Wednesday, 9 November 2005
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Leaching and Bioavailability of Arsenic in Poultry Litter Amended Soils.

Sheila Gardner and J. T. Sims. University of Delaware, 152 Townsend Hall, Newark, DE 19716

Arsenic (As) contamination of groundwaters is an emerging issue on the Delmarva Peninsula primarily because of the long-term application of poultry litter as a fertilizer. Roxarsone (3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenyl arsenic acid) has been added to poultry feed for decades to control Coccidiosis and act as a growth promoter. Since roxarsone is excreted by chickens, it is directly applied to cropland where it is known to be converted into inorganic forms of As that are potentially toxic to humans and aquatic biota. Soils were collected from five different farms in Sussex County, Delaware with histories of poultry litter application for use in studies of As leaching and bioavailability. Soil columns (15 cm by 20 cm) were packed with topsoils from two amended sites (Corsica loam and Sassafras loamy sand) and were treated with 0, 0.448, 0.897, 1.345, 1.793, and 2.242 kg m-2 poultry litter and leached weekly. Leachate was collected and analyzed for As by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (GFAAS). Wheat was grown in each column and analyzed for As by ICP-OES and GFAAS. Upon completion of the leaching study, soil from each column was analyzed for bioavailable As (Mehlich 3, Physiologically-Based Extraction Test) and potentially leachable As (Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure, Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure).

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