The Applications of Chemical Analyses of Sediments and Soils in ...

Sediments and soils play important roles in the environment as reservoirs fornutrients and toxins for animal and plants, sites for detoxifying mechanisms and, in thesuspended form, provide major transportation routes. As key stages in aquatic andterrestrial food chains inorganic and other toxins in sediments and soils are significantin biological concentration in each chain. eventually affecting the health of man.Copper and zinc are the most common fresh water pollutants in Canada withmercury severe locally (Sprague 1975). The metals accumulate in aquatic organisms,especially invertebrates, with concentration factors of 1000, 40,000 and 100,000 forcopper, zinc and mercury, respectively (Chapman et al, 1968). Freshwater plants alsohave concentration factors of 1,000 x for copper and mercury and 4,000 for zinc.Metals can also concentrate in terrestrial plants through "luxury" consumption.Various plant species can accumulate different trace metals when in abundantsupply. For example it has been found in solution culture work that turnip leaves cancontain 8,000 ppm Mn, 4,000 ppm Mo, 1,500 ppm Zn and 1,000 ppm B.(Beeson andLyon, 1948). Only iron and copper were rejected by the plant. The tomato can alsotake up high concentrations of metals into the leaflets. Hickory leaves can accumulateup to 5,000 ppm barium and 500 ppm lanthanum and yttrium in the leaves (Cannon,1969). Astragalus is a concentrator of selenium (Beath et al, 1934) and sweet cloverof boron. The hazard exists, therefore, that the health of animals or man consumingsuch plants could be affected. The known or suspected effects of anomalousconcentration of trace elements in plants and animals, including humans, and their1