Hi Everyone,
I am located in Alabama and I need help with large quantity of arsenic contaminated soil for a remediation study. The higher the level of arsenic contamination the better.
i was referred to a few industries but access is a problem (it turns out no one wants to admit their soil if contaminated). I have called my regional EPA and the state’s ADEM without any luck.
If anyone has information about, or a contact at a mine, lumber treatment plant where CCA is used, or any other location with high arsenic pollution that will allow excavation of the soil for research purpose I will appreciate that a lot. Tell them I will take the bad soil off them.
Also, if you are a researcher and have access, we would like to collaborate with you on this research. You can contact me directly at [email protected].
I need quite a lot for a mesocosm study.
Thank you.
Most arsenic in surface soil and water exists primarily in its oxidized form, arsenate. Plants actively take up arsenate, mistaking it for phosphate and transfer it to their leaves. The team engineered the arsC gene to be turned on strongly by light, which falls naturally on leaves and stems. (Light-induced gene expression as a tool for genetics, also pioneered by the Meagher lab, has been around for at least two decades.
The arsC gene reduces arsenate to a more toxic compound called arsenite, but only in leaves. Thus, the new system allows plants to remove arsenic from the soil, concentrate it, and then send it to the leaves. This is where the second gene, ECS, comes in. ECS creates more sulfur sinks to bind tightly to arsenate, making it less biologically available. And instead of dying from exposure, the new plants absolutely thrive on the arsenic exposure, and when the "healthy" plants are harvested, much of the arsenic pollution, once in the soil, can be removed from the site.
The ferns soak up arsenic from the soil through their roots and store it in their fronds.ferns are the best plants for this cause.
How much exactly do you need? Unfortunately I do not know the place in US but perhaps it can be transported (by DHL or UPS) from Europe. Regarding the US contaminated soil. Perhaps you can contact Rufus Chaney from USDA. He has been working on remediation for many years now and he might help you.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rufus_Chaney3
Hello!
You try getting large sample volume from different south Asia regions specially India and Bangladesh, if their biodiversity regulation allows.
All the best!
I have been working in bioleaching of As for 5 year from contaminated soil Krompachy (Slovakia) and sediment Ružín (Slovakia). The soil 1184 mg/kg As and sediment contains 120 mg/kg As. Mining activities and soil erosion represent potential sources of heavy metals in aquatic bodies due to soil contamination in close proximity of industrial areas. The industrial site investigated here is located close to the river Hornad which flows into reservoir with contaminated sediment. I can you give samples and compare your and my methods of As removal.
The USGS released a web based interactive geochemistry map of soil in the US (http://mrdata.usgs.gov/soilgeochemistry/#/detail/element/33). From the webpage, you can select almost any element (or mineral) and see the concentration in the top horizons. This map may help you locate an area with high As that is in close proximity to your institution, it also works as an overlay with Google Earth. Also, Superfund Sites, many have elevated As, all list the contaminants of interest.
Thanks Rafai, I contacted Dr. Rufus Lee Chaney and he was extremely helpful.
Many thanks Dr. Chaney, you rock!
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