Biological assessment of contaminated shooting range soil using earthworm biomarkers

The contamination in shooting range soils is widely know ecological problem around the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the toxic effects of contaminated shooting range soil on physiological and biochemical endpoints of Eisenia fetida . A shooting range located in Alytus, Lithuania was chosen as a object to assess the site–specific soil toxicity to earthworm E. fetida . The elevated concentrations of Pb, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mn, Zn in soil was found along with lower organic matter content and higher soil density, especially closer to the target line. Significant weight loss was observed in earthworms exposed to soil of the most contaminated shooting range site. Significantly higher concentrations of Pb, Cu, Fe, Ni, Sb was determined in the tissues of adult worms from the very end of the shooting range. No juveniles were observed in the most contaminated soil, higher concentrations of Pb, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn were found in the tissues of juveniles exposed to the contaminated soil of study sites were concentrations of lead were lower compared to the most contaminated site, but higher compared to control. Exposure to contaminated soil caused antioxidant system alterations and lipid peroxidation. It was observed a compensatory mechanism between the activities of GR and glutathione S-transferase (GST) under trace elements induced toxicity.

Assessing phytotoxicity and accumulation of trace elements to Lactuca sativa of a contaminated shooting range soil

Shooting range soil contamination with heavy metals is a common problem around the world. Usually, lead is the primary contaminant in the shooting ranges. Extreme concentrations of trace elements create a toxic living environment for various plants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown in contaminated shooting range soil. The results showed that physiological parameters root elongation, shoot length and fresh biomass per plant were negatively affected, especially in the most contaminated site in the shooting range. At the most contaminated shooting range site shoots accumulated higher concentrations of Ni and Zn, roots – Cu, Ni, and Zn. The roots of plants grown in the most contaminated soil accumulated significantly higher concentrations of Cu, Ni, and Sb than the reference and accumulation of Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Sb and Zn in the roots of the plants grown in the most contaminated site was higher compared to shoots. Bioaccumulation factor of Cu and Ni in plants from the most contaminated site was significantly higher than the reference. Metals absorbed by L. sativa were accumulated in root and lower metal translocation in shoots was determined, except for Mn.

Assessing phytotoxicity and accumulation of trace elements to Lactuca sativa of a contaminated shooting range soil

Shooting range soil contamination with heavy metals is a common problem around the world. Usually, lead is the main contaminant in the shooting ranges. Extreme concentrations of trace elements create a toxic living environment for various plants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown in contaminated shooting range soil. The results showed that physiological parameters root elongation, shoot length and fresh biomass per plant was negatively affected, especially in the most contaminated site of the shooting range. At the most contaminated shooting range site shoots accumulated higher concentrations of Ni and Zn, roots – Cu, Ni, and Zn. The roots of plants grown in the most contaminated soil accumulated significantly higher concentrations of Cu, Ni and Sb in comparison with control (p < 0.05). Accumulation of Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Sb and Zn in the roots of the plants grown in the most contaminated site was higher compared to shoots (p < 0.05). Bioaccumulation factor of lettuce was lower than 1, only BF of Cu and Ni in plants from most contaminated site was significantly higher compared to control. In terms of translocation factor, the TFsoil to root of Cu and Pb among all plants and Ni in plants grown in the most contaminated site above 1 shows that metals absorbed by L.sativa were accumulated in root and lower metal translocation in shoots was determined, except for Mn.

Contamination and Potential Ecological Risk Factors of Potentially Toxic Elements Present in the Soil of Shooting Range: Comparison with the Global Soils

This study was carried out to determine potentially toxic element (PTE) contamination and their potential ecological risk factors in shooting range soil. For this purpose soil samples were collected from different locations (left side, right side, shooting point, middle, and stop-butt) from the shooting range of Frontier Corps Training Centre (FCTC) present in Warsak, Peshawar. The soil samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and potentially toxic elements including Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn. The strong acids digested extracts were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry to determine the concentrations of selected PTEs. The concentration of Pb was found to be maximum at stop-butt i.e. 2049 mg/kg and exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) critical value of 400 mg/kg, while its concentrations at left, right, shooting point and middle were 14.0 mg/kg, 18.8 mg/kg, 47.4 mg/kg, and 18.2 mg/kg, respectively and exceeded the background level of normal soils which is 10 mg/kg for Pb. This study revealed that the shooting range soil was highly contaminated with Pb, and very high contamination factor and potential ecological risk for Pb was observed at stop-butt, very high contamination factor and potential ecological risk for Cd, while moderate contamination factor for Zn was observed at all locations of the shooting range. In Pakistan, the environmental perspective of shooting range soils is overlooked and there is a need to take steps to avoid such contamination of soils with Pb and other PTEs that can enter into food chains and can also leach to contaminate the aquifer. Replacement of vegetation of shooting range with PTE tolerant species, addition of soil conditioners and uncontaminated soil would reduce the mobility of these contaminants into aerial portions of plants and protect the groundwater contamination.