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Elemental sulfur amendment enhance methylmercury accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown in Hg mining polluted
Yunyun Li1, Yongjie Wang2, Qijia Zhang3
1College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, Fujian, China; CAS Key Laboratory for Biological Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, and HKU-IHEP Joint Laboratory on Metallomics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Abstract:
The influence of elemental sulfur (S(0)) amendment on methylmercury (MeHg) accumulation in rice and the chemical form of Hg in the rhizosphere were investigated under waterlogged conditions in Hg-contaminated soil (the majority of the Hg (˜70%) in forms similar to HgS). Different levels of S(0) addition increased the MeHg accumulation in rice. After a sequential extraction analysis of the chemical forms of Hg in the rhizosphere, the results showed that S(0) addition increased the organic bound Hg and decreased the residual Hg in the soils. An Hg LIII XANES further showed that S(0) addition increased the proportion of Hg in the form of RS-Hg-SR and decreased the proportion of Hg in the form of HgS, indicating that S(0) input may reactivate the non-bioavailable Hg in the rhizosphere and improve the net Hg methylation. These findings suggest that the application of S fertilizers to Hg-contaminated paddy soils may increase the MeHg concentration in the edible parts of crops, which may lead to more potential health problems in humans depending on the crop type. However, our study also suggests that S(0) addition could be an effective measure for mobilizing the insoluble Hg and accelerating the phytoremediation process in Hg-contaminated paddy soils.
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