SERDP CU-1166: Quantifying The Bioavailability of Toxic Metals in Soils
Objective
- To investigate the relative bioavailability of toxic metals (i.e., lead, zinc, copper, cadmium, arsenic, chromium, and nickel) in soils, primarily in relation to the human health risk posed by soil ingestion.
- Calculated health risk is inappropriately based on a reference dose derived from studies that typically use soluble aqueous metal species.
- Soils can be strong sequestering agents for metals.
- Insufficient research to provide reasonable initial estimates of relative soil bioavailability for As, Cr, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Ni.
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Accomplishments
- Improved fundamental understanding and predictive capability of the processes that control the long-term immobilization and decreased bioaccessibility of toxic metals in a wide array of DoD soils.
- Model development and validation studies demonstrated that toxic metal bioavailability can be predicted based on major soil properties [SBAT, Soil BioAccessibility Tool (Excel® 2000 application, User Guide)].
- Although site-specific data always will need to be considered in final cleanup decisions, results can be used to prioritize sites and to justify site-specific bioavailability studies, thereby avoiding the unnecessary diversion of DoD funds for unwarranted site cleanup.
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Publications
- Heuscher, Sonja A.; Brandt, Craig C.; Jardine, Philip M. 2005. Using Soil Physical and Chemical Properties to Estimate Bulk Density. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 69.
- Jardine, Philip; Barnett, Mark. 2002. New Tools Estimate Risk From Metal-Contaminated Soils. SERDP Success Story: Fall Information Bulletin.
- Stewart, M.A., P.M. Jardine, M.O. Barnett, T.L. Mehlhorn, L.K. Hyder, and L.D. McKay. 2003. Influence of Soil Geochemical and Physical Properties on the Sorption and Bioaccessibility of Chromium(III). J. Environ. Qual. 32:129-137.
- Stewart, M.A., P.M. Jardine, C.C. Brandt, M.O. Barnett, S.E. Fendorf, L.D. McKay, T.L. Mehlhorn, and K. Paul. 2003. Effects of Contaminant Concentration, Aging, and Soil Properties on the Bioaccessibility of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in Soil. Soil and Sediment Contamination 12(1):1-21.
- Yang, Jae-Kyu, Mark O. Barnett, Philip M. Jardine, Nicholas T. Basta, and Stan W. Casteel. 2002. Adsorption, Sequestration, and Bioaccessibility of As(V) in Soils. Environ. Sci. Technol. 36(21):4562-4569.
- Yang, Jae-Kyu, Mark O. Barnett, Philip M. Jardine, and Scott C. Brooks. 2003. Factors Controlling the Bioaccessibility of Arsenic (V) and Lead (II) in Soil. Soil and Sediment Contamination 12(2):165-179.
- Yang, Jae-Kyu, Mark O. Barnett, Jinling Zhuang, Scott E. Fendorf, and Philip M. Jardine. 2005. Adsorption, Oxidation, and Bioaccessibility of As(III) in Soils. Environ. Sci. Technol. 39(18):7102-7110.
For more information, contact:
Philip Jardine (jardinepm@ornl.gov, 865-574-8058)