The cumulative effect of three decades of phosphogypsum amendments in reclaimed marsh soils from SW Spain: 226Ra, 238U and Cd contents in soils and tomato fruit

Phosphogypsum amendments and irrigation with acidulated water affect tomato nutrition in reclaimed marsh soils from SW Spain

“…The Na adsorption ratio in the saturated extract of the soil was 3 in the surface horizon, 8 at 30-60 cm depth and 18 at 60-90 cm depth. Based on the 226 Ra/ 238 U activities ratios, Abril et al (2008) found that the soils of this farm had already received six typical PG applications, roughly distributed in the 0-40 cm soil horizon.…”

Occupational, Public and Environmental Radiological Impact Caused by the Phosphoric Acid Industry: The Case of Huelva (Spain)

“…Although during the last years research and attempts have been done for valorization of the PG, the use of the generated one in the Huelva factories has been until now quite limited and mostly in agriculture as a soil amendment [4]. Consequently, due to the lack of any market for this compound, the great majority of the generated PG in Huelva has historically been considered as a waste with the following management policy: (a) During the first 30 years of production (until December 1997), 20% of the PG generated was released directly into the Odiel Channel of the Huelva estuary, whereas the remaining 80% was transported from the phosphoric acid production plants in suspension with sea water to a neighboring marshland area (2 km away from the plants and located in the confluence of the mouths of the Odiel and…”

“…Several sampling campaigns have been done inside the PG stacks in order to characterize the material accumulated, to analyze the spatial degree of variation in the levels of the radionuclides associated [4,13], and to evaluate its radiological impact through external radiation, inhalation of particle matter and radon emanation. And also a detailed sampling campaign was done after the halting of the PG production in order to evaluate the radioactive content of the liquid leakages of the piles and the associated formed efflorescences [14].…”

Radiological impact of phosphogypsum surface application in a no-till system in Southern Brazil

“…The huge demand for phosphate fertilizer with high P content in agriculture has led to a global production of about 170 million megagrams of PG per year (Abril et al, 2008). Surface-applied PG followed by its leaching to acidic subsoils results in improvement of root growth and higher absorption of water and nutrients by plant roots as a result of the increase in calcium content, the formation of less toxic aluminum species (AlSO 4 + ) and precipitation of Al 3+ (Shainberg et al, 1989;Carvalho & Raij, 1997;Caires et al, 2003).…”