Effect of aging on bioaccessibility of arsenic and lead in soils

• Aging effect on As/Pb bioaccessibility in soils was investigated using PBET assay.
• Non-specifically sorbed As attributed most to bioaccessibility.
• Carbonate and exchangeable Pb fractions contributed most to bioaccessible Pb.

The effect of aging on the bioaccessibility of As and Pb in three soils spiked with As (40 or 400 mg kg−1), Pb (150 or 1500 mg kg−1) or As + Pb (40 mg kg−1 As and 150 mg kg−1 Pb) were investigated using the physiologically based extraction test (PBET). Prolonged aging in soils resulted in a decrease in As/Pb bioaccessibility, especially within the first month. After 76 weeks, As/Pb bioaccessibility in soils decreased to a stable level, with 48–84% and 8–34% for bioaccessible As and Pb respectively in the intestinal phase, illustrating that As in spiked soils was much more bioaccessible than Pb. Correlation analysis between sequential extraction data and PBET results showed that the non-specifically sorbed As contributed the most to bioaccessible As, while Pb bound with carbonates and exchangeable fractions were the source for bioaccessible Pb. For future work, minerals containing As and/or Pb instead of their soluble salts can be added to uncontaminated soils to better simulate the natural aging processes.

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