Heavy metal concentrations in earthworms following long-term nutrient enrichment

Brewer, Susan R.; Barrett, Gary W.

doi:10.1007/bf00196278

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Nevertheless, data on SS vermicomposting, essentially an effect of the process by epigeic Lumbricus rubellus (red worms), is exceptionally limited as is the utilization of SMC as a feed material. Furthermore, earthworms (L. rubellus and E. foetida) accumulate significant levels of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn from soils contaminated with SS [12][13][14][15]. However, another study showed that the vermicomposting of SS mixed with raw vegetable-fruit mash appears to increase the content of heavy metals in worm (E. foetida) castings slightly [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Vermicomposting of sewage sludge by Lumbricus rubellus using spent mushroom compost as feed material: Effect on concentration of heavy metals

Bakar

Mahmood

Silva

et al. 2011

Biotechnol Bioproc E

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vermicomposting of sewage sludge (SS) using spent mushroom compost from Pleurotus sajor-caju as feed material was conducted to determine the effect on the concentration of heavy metals, namely Cr, Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn. Previous studies have reported the feasibility of brandling worms, Eisenia foetida, for vermicomposting SS, whereas we conducted vermicomposting by employing red worms, Lumbricus rubellus, with a combination of different percentages of SS and spent mushroom compost (SMC) for 70 days subsequent to 21 days of precomposting. The vermicompost produced in treatments with a low percentage of SS were fine in texture, dark in colour and odourless in contrast to the initial physical characteristics. Results indicate that growth in earthworm numbers and biomass gain was maximum at 25 : 75 (T D ) of SS : SMC compared to other treatments with 5 and 8-fold increases, respectively. The heavy metals contained in vermicompost were 0.25 ~ 11.57-fold higher than the initial concentration due to mineralization and excretion of non-accumulated heavy metals existent in the earthworms' gut, which were present prior to treatments. Even so, the concentration was below the limits set by EU and US biosolid compost standards and safe to be utilized as a biofertilizer and soil conditioner.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Vermicomposting of sewage sludge by Lumbricus rubellus using spent mushroom compost as feed material: Effect on concentration of heavy metals

Bakar

Mahmood

Silva

et al. 2011

Biotechnol Bioproc E

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The majority of these studies have focused on Superfund sites (www.epa.gov/superfund), seasonal wetlands, landfills, mining operations, sludge disposal sites, or other sites that are all heavily contaminated. Several authors have documented the importance of small mammals as an intermediate step in the transfer of toxic contaminants to higher tropic levels, and hence important implications regarding the potential bioaccumulation of contaminants can be drawn from small mammal studies (Taylor et al, 1981;Anderson et al, 1982;Hunter et al, 1987;Brueske and Barrett, 1991;Brewer and Barrett, 1995;Kaplan et al, 1996;Laurinolli and Bendell-Young, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of mercury concentrations in small mammals collected near Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Gerstenberger

Cross

Divine

et al. 2006

Environmental Toxicology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mercury concentrations in liver and hair tissue were determined for five species of small mammals captured near Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. These data were then used to evaluate the suitability of using hair as a noninvasive technique for determining body burdens of mercury. A total of 104 small mammals were captured and analyzed; four main species were examined and included: Dipodomys merriami, Chaetodipus penicillatus, Peromyscus eremicus, and Neotoma lepida. Mean mercury concentrations were highest in N. lepida, followed by D. merriami, C. penicillatus, and P. eremicus respectively. Positive associations were found between hair and liver taken from D. merriami (r ¼ 0.647) and C. penicillatus

show abstract

“…Aleagha & Ebadi (2013) indicated in their study that the rate of accumulation of Cadmium during 14 days is higher than the concentration of chromium in the earthworm's body. Previous studies have also confirmed that as well, according to the results those previous studies; earthworms have a high capacity in accumulating cadmium biodegradability (Brewer & Barrett, 1995;Lapinski et al, 2002;Li, Xu et al, 2010). Of course in some cases, the death of earthworms due to their incompatibility with the environment or the extra toxification of the metals during the bioremediation, the accumulation rate of a given metal in the earthworm's body is less than its removal rate from the soil.…”

Section: Bioremediation Of the Soils Contaminated With Cadmium And Chmentioning

confidence: 69%

Bioremediation of the Soils Contaminated with Cadmium and Chromium, by the Earthworm Eisenia fetida

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

One of the most important environmental problems in the world is the soils contamination by heavy metals in the industrial areas, and especially the contamination of the agricultural lands. The use of earthworms to bioremediate the soils results in reducing the pollutants concentration through a bioaccumulation mechanism on the contaminants in the earthworm's body. Hence, the present study aimed to prove the biological effectiveness of Eisenia fetida earthworms in bioremediation the soils contaminated with chromium and cadmium. Concentration of chromium and cadmium pollution in soil was determined to be 0.04 mg/g and 0.08 mg/g respectively. 30 worms were added to 500 g soil samples. Chromium and cadmium concentration in soil and in the body of worms was measured at two time periods of 21 and 42 days. To measure the concentration of chromium and cadmium we used ICP spectrometry. Software in usage was SPSS version 17. There was a significant correlation between the reduction of chromium and cadmium metals in the soils and the accumulation of chromium and cadmium metals in the worm's body. A significant decline of chromium levels of the soil was observed in the days 21 and 42 during the study compared to initial amount of 0.1 mg/g. on the other hand chromium concentration of the soil decreased from 0.14 mg/g to 0.1 mg/g after 42 days. Comparison of mortality in two different time periods showed that by passing the time and by increase in soil chromium and cadmium concentrations the death toll of worms rises. The increased mortality of worms in the soil at a concentration of 0.08 mg/g of chromium, say that using the worms for bioremediation is not recommended at such concentration of chromium but using the worms for the removal of cadmium at concentrations of 0.04 mg/g and 0.08 mg/g in the soil is recommended. Keywords: Chromium; Cadmium; Eisenia fetida; bioremediation ResumoUm dos problemas ambientais mais importantes do mundo é a contaminação dos solos por metais pesados nas áreas industriais e, principalmente, a contaminação das terras agrícolas. O uso de anelídeos para biorremediar os solos resultam na redução da concentração de poluentes por meio de um mecanismo de bioacumulação dos contaminantes no corpo dos anelídeos. Assim, o presente estudo teve como objetivo comprovar a eficácia biológica dos anelídeos Eisenia fetida em biorremediação dos solos contaminados com cromo e cádmio.A concentração de cromo e cádmio em solo poluídos foi determinadao como sendo 0,04 mg/g , e de 0,08 mg/g respectivamente. Trinta anelídeos foram adicionados a 500 g de amostras de solo. A concentração de cromo e cádmio no solo e no corpo dos anelídeos foi medida em dois períodos, de 21 e 42 dias . Para medir a concentração de cromo e cádmio usamos espectrometria de ICP . O software em uso foi o SPSS versão 17. Houve uma correlação significativa entre a redução dos metais cromo e cádmio nos solos e da acumulação de metais de cromo e cádmio no corpo dos anelídeos. Também houve uma diminuição significativa na concentração de crom...

show abstract

Heavy metal concentrations in earthworms following long-term nutrient enrichment

Cited by 19 publications

References 2 publications

Vermicomposting of sewage sludge by Lumbricus rubellus using spent mushroom compost as feed material: Effect on concentration of heavy metals

Vermicomposting of sewage sludge by Lumbricus rubellus using spent mushroom compost as feed material: Effect on concentration of heavy metals

Assessment of mercury concentrations in small mammals collected near Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Bioremediation of the Soils Contaminated with Cadmium and Chromium, by the Earthworm Eisenia fetida

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About