Assessment of the phytotoxicity of chromium in soils using the selective ion exchange resin extraction method

Chromium in soils is present in the form of Cr(VI) oxyanions or Cr(III) cations. The toxicity and mobility of Cr(VI) are higher than those of Cr(III), thus it is essential that the availability of Cr(VI) in soils be accurately estimated in order to assess the phytotoxicity of Cr and its resultant health hazards to animals and humans. In this study, the Cu-saturated selective ion exchange resin (DOWEX M4195) was used as an infinite sink to test the feasibility of using the resin for extracting available Cr(VI) from soil. In the experiments, the results show that the resin had a high affinity for Cr(VI) and that Cr(VI) adsorbed by resins could be desorbed by using 10% NaCl (pH 4). In addition, the adsorption and desorption of Cr(VI) were not affected by pH levels, the forms of Cr(VI) or the presence of major anions in the soil solution. The above results indicate that the Cu-saturated resin can selectively adsorb Cr(VI) from solution. In the soil extraction experiments, three Cr(VI)-spiked soils were processed using the Cu-saturated resin extraction method. The results show that amounts of soil Cr extractable by the resin had a significant negative correlation to the height of wheat seedlings grown in the Neubauer test. Comparing this to the commonly used extractant, 0.1 M HCl, the amount of soil Cr, extractable by the resin, had a higher correlation to plant height. The results suggest that the selective ion exchange resin method developed in this study is useful in evaluating the quantities of plant-available Cr(VI) in soil and can, therefore, assess the phytotoxicity of Cr in soil.