Influence Of Coal Combustion Flue Gas Desulfurization Waste On Element Uptake By Maize (Zea Mays L.)

A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effect of coal combustion flue gas desulfurization (FGD) waste from a coal combustion electric power facility on element uptake by maize (Zea mays L.). Unweathered FGD was applied to an Orangeburg Series (Typic Paleudult) soil with an initial soil pH salt of 4.90. The FGD was added at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 per cent by weight. The test plant, maize, was harvested after 6 weeks of growth. Within 56 days of the FGD application, all rates of FGD significantly increased pH in the soil and the soil leachate above 6.0. The elemental concentration of the maize tissues indicated a characteristic elevation of B, Se, Mo, and As. However, no visual symptoms of toxicity of B or other elements in plants were observed. Increasing level of FGD caused a steady decline in dry weight, with the highest treatment producing plants which had approximately half the biomass of the control plants. Due to elevated concentrations of B and other elements and due to adverse yield effects measured on plants, unweathered FGD would not be a suitable amendment for 6-week old maize on this soil

Clean coal technology combustion products: properties, agricultural and environmental applications, and risk management

Future research should aim to focus more on the biological implications of CCPs addition to soil, long-term trials and a repository on ash information.

Residues of persistent organic pollutants in Estonian soils

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analysed in selected Estonian soils. The sample collection included agricultural-rural (Ahja, Eerika), industrial-urban (Kohtla-Järve, Muuga, Kunda), and reference sites (Lahemaa and Vilsandi). The PCB concentrations were greater in Ahja-1982 and Kohtla-Järve station 1, while Eerika, other Kohtla-Järve, Muuga Port, Kunda, Lahemaa, and Vilsandi Island concentrations were low. Organochlorine pesticides were slightly higher at Kohtla-Järve stations and PBDEs at Kunda stations. Overall, the predominant contaminants were PCBs (0.43–89 ng/g dw), followed by OCPs (0.21–16 ng/g dw) and PBDEs (< 0.01–3.2 ng/g dw). The occurrence of 4,4'-DDT in some samples indicated recent contamination by DDT of Estonian soils. The PBDEs in Estonian soils were reported for the first time