Cadmium Uptake by Plant and Transport in Soil Column under Industrial Wastewater Irrigation: A Case Study

Abstract

Development of industry in Sistan and Baluchestan (SB) province in Iran, has increased the amount of Cadmium (Cd) in industrial wastewater, which is used as a secondary water supply in this area. The present study aimed to investigate the variation of Cd concentration in soil column and cultivated cucumber plant in greenhouse under short-term simulated industrial wastewater irrigation. To simulate industrial wastewater, two different solutions with concentration of 0.2 and 1 ppm of Cd were used and labeled medium and strong wastewater. The Cd concentration of higher organs and roots of plants and soil in three different depths (shallow, 20, and 30 cm) were analyzed during 65 days in six days of plant growth period. Results demonstrated that the medium and strong wastewater were unable to contaminate the fruit. However, despite a considerable amount of Cd absorption by root in the first days, Cd concentration decreased significantly during next days to 253.17 ppb in the last day of sampling. In addition, a direct relationship between Cd concentration and time was observed in soil. Furthermore, in the last day of experiment, Cd accumulated more than 1689, 175, and 124 ppb in shallow layer and depths of 20 and 30 cm of soil using 0.2 ppm Cd solution, respectively.