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Solid-Phase Control on Lead Bioaccessibility in Smelter-Impacted Soils

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Abstract

The goal of this work was to identify the solid-phase control on lead (Pb) bioaccessibility in soils impacted by smelter activities in the city of San Luis Potosi, in north-central Mexico. Total Pb concentrations in 30 ha of soil terrain from a residential area adjacent to the smelter showed levels above the 400-mg/kg intervention guideline dictated by Mexican Environmental regulations. These concentrations, although raising human health and environmental concerns, showed low water-soluble lead (<0.1 mg/L) and relatively low lead bioaccessibility (2.4–20.5%). X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy techniques showed, in addition to common Pb phases reported in similar contaminated environments [galena (PbS) and anglesite (PbSO4)], the presence of a solid lead arsenate phase. The Pb solubility measured in soils agrees very well with the low solubility reported for the Pb minerals identified and explains the relatively low Pb bioaccessibility values measured, presumably from their low dissolution during passage through the gastrointestinal tract. The results reported are highly relevant for smelter-originated environmental contamination scenarios in general.

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Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude to Industrial Minera México (IMMSA) for their financial and logistic support and to M. Monroy (Instituto de Metalurgia, Universidad de San Luis Potosí) for his help in the bioaccessibility analyses. We acknowledge C. Linares (Instituto de Geofísica, UNAM), I. Puente Lee, and C. Salcedo (Facultad de Química, UNAM) for technical aid in electron microscope measurements and XRD analyses, respectively. Finally, we are thankful for the comments of two anonymous reviewers who helped improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacan, 04510, Mexico D.F., Mexico

    F. M. Romero & R. Aguirre

  2. Instituto de Geografía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacan, 04510, Mexico D.F., Mexico

    M. Villalobos & M. E. Gutiérrez

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  1. F. M. Romero
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  2. M. Villalobos
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  3. R. Aguirre
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  4. M. E. Gutiérrez
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Correspondence to F. M. Romero.

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Romero, F.M., Villalobos, M., Aguirre, R. et al. Solid-Phase Control on Lead Bioaccessibility in Smelter-Impacted Soils. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 55, 566–575 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9152-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9152-3

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