HEAVY-METAL ABSORPTION BY PERENNIAL RYEGRASS AND SWISS CHARD GROWN IN POTTED SOILS AMENDED WITH ASHES FROM 18 MUNICIPAL REFUSE INCINERATORS

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. ) were grown in pots of mardin silt loam soil amended with 5 or 10% by weight of fly ash, bottom ash, or mixtures of both from 18 municipal refuse incinerators representing about one-fourth of all those operating in the United States. The ash and plant material were analyzed for total cadmium, lead, and zinc. The correlation coefficients (r) for the concentration of cadmium, lead, and zinc in the ashes and that in the following crops were, respectively, as follows: ryegrass (first cutting), 0. 9964, 0. 7600, 0. 9699; ryegrass (second cutting), 0. 9946, 0. 6895, 0. 9474; swiss chard, 0. 9153, 0. 7609, 0. 9580. Poor plant growth occurred in a few of the treatments containing ash notably higher in dissolved solids, cadmium, and zinc. The origin and association of heavy metals in refuse ash and their reactions in soils are reviewed. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.