CHROMIUM CONCENTRATION IN PLANTS - EFFECTS OF SOIL CHROMIUM CONCENTRATION AND TISSUE CONTAMINATION BY SOIL

The effect of chromium (Cr) concentration of soil on the Cr concentration in plants was investigated. Tissue samples of a number of different plant species were collected from high-Cr and low-Cr soils found in eastern and western United States. Sample contamination by soil, estimated by titanium (Ti) analysis, was an important factor contributing to the total Cr concentration of most plant tissues analyzed. Plant samples taken from plants growing on high-Cr soils contained higher concentrations of Cr than similar plants growing on low-Cr soils. However, some of this Cr was apparently due to plant contamination by soil. The method used to quantitate contamination was not sensitive enough to be able to determine whether the concentration of Cr absorbed by plants was influenced by the total amount of Cr in the soil. However, it is clear that plant samples taken from the field are contaminated with foreign material that may invalidate certain analytical values. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.