Considering bioavailability in the remediation of heavy metal contaminated sites

L. Leita*, G. Petruzzelli, F. Pedron, M. Alja, R. Mena, M. Valentini

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Many years of research have demonstrated that instead of the total concentration of metals in soil, bioavailability is the key to understand the environmental risk derived by metals, since adverse effects are related only to the biologically available forms of these elements. The knowledge of bioavailability can decrease the uncertainties in evaluating exposure in human and ecological risk assessment. At the same time, the efficiency of remediation treatments could be greatly influenced by availability of the contaminants. Consideration of the bioavailability processes at contaminated sites could be useful in site-specific risk assessment: the fraction of mobile metals, instead of total content should be provided as estimates of metal exposure. Moreover, knowledge of the chemical forms of heavy metals in soils is a critical component in the evaluation of applicability of different remediation technologies such as phytoremdiation or soil washing.

Original languageEnglish
Article number13008
JournalE3S Web of Conferences
Volume1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 23 2013
Externally publishedYes
Event16th International Conference on Heavy Metals in the Environment, ICHMET 2012 - Rome, Italy
Duration: Sept 23 2013Sept 27 2013

Keywords

  • Bioavailability
  • Heavy metals
  • Remediation
  • Soil

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Environmental Science
  • General Energy
  • General Earth and Planetary Sciences

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