Nutrient and trace elements in soil and desert vegetation of southern Idaho

Abstract

Concentrations of thirty elements were measured in strong-acid extracts of soil, sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp.) leaves and perennial grass from the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) and two reference sites in southern Idaho. A bicarbonate-chelating extract of soil was used to estimate plant-available concentrations. The results provide baseline data prior to start-up of a coal-fired steam generation facility on the INEL and other developments in the region. In addition, existing impact from effluents from thirty years of a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility on the INEL was evaluated. Based on the spatial distribution of element concentrations, as well as comparison with references sites, we conclude that concentrations of Zn, and perhaps Ni, Cd, and V, are currently elevated around the fuel reprocessing facility. The spatial distribution of these elements is similar to that of (137)Cs in soil, a radionuclide which is emitted by the facility. Sagebrush and soil appear more responsive than perennial grass for long-term monitoring of element concentrations in this semi-arid environment.

Medical image of the week: acute pneumonitis secondary to boric acid exposure

“…POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSURE in a U.S. Geological Survey report (USGS 1984), with an average boron concentration of 33 mg/kg (range <20-300 mg/kg) in surface soils from the conterminous United States. Mean boron concentrations in soil collected in the summer of 1981 from the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory and a reference site were 10.1 and 4.7 mg/kg dry weight, respectively (Rope et al 1988). A geometric mean boron concentration of 8.98 mg/kg (range 2.90-38.0 mg/kg) was reported in soil collected from Aviles, northern Spain (Ordonez et al 2003).…”

“…Natural sources include oceans, volcanoes, and geothermal steam (Graedel 1978 facilities producing fiberglass and other products (EPA 1987;Graedel 1978;Hollis et al 1988;Lang et al 1986;Rope et al 1988;Stokinger 1981).…”

“…Human-made sources include application of boron-containing fertilizers or herbicides, application of fly ash or sewage sludge as a soil amendment, the use of waste water for irrigation, or land disposal of boron-containing industrial wastes (Butterwick et al 1989;Hollis et al 1988;Mumma et al 1984;Nolte 1988;Rope et al 1988). In the Great Menderes Basin, Turkey, the hot waste waters of a geothermal power plant contained high levels of boron (~25-30 mg/L).…”

“…Data on boron levels in surface water and soil are available (Butterwick et al 1989;Eckel and Langley 1988;EPA 1986b;Hall et al 2004;Ordonez et al 2003;Rope et al 1988;USGS 1984). Data on boron concentration in drinking water are limited (Choi and Chen 1979;Davies 1990;McCabe et al 1970;NIRS 1987;Waggott 1969).…”

Multivariate analyses and spatial distribution of Manganese minerals in soils close to an abandoned Manganese mine

“…Manganese ions dissolved from Mn bearing rocks (Phillips et al, 1998) migrated through different pathways southwards whereupon saturating, became neomineralised thereby reconstituting the Mn bearing minerals in the soils. According to studies conducted by Shroeder et al (1987), Eckel and Langley, (1988) and Rope et al (1988), natural concentration levels of Mn in soils range from 40 to 900 mg kg À1 with an estimated mean of 330 mg kg À1 . However, concentration levels of Mn in Kgwakgwe soils reflected soils in the study area to be significantly higher in Mn content than mean concentration levels of Mn in soils in general.…”