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Science 11 February 1977:
Vol. 195. no. 4278, pp. 571 - 573
DOI: 10.1126/science.195.4278.571
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Articles

Release of Particles Containing Metals from Vegetation into the Atmosphere

W. BEAUFORD 1, J. BARBER 1, and A. R. BARRINGER 2

1 Department of Botany, Imperial College, London SW7 2BB, England
2 Barringer Research Ltd., Rexdale, Ontario, Canada

Studies with radioisotopes indicate that in the laboratory pea plants and pine tree seedlings release zinc and lead into the atmosphere. Field studies carried out on radiolabeled plots vegetated with a variety of grasses and small herbaceous plants also show that these elements are released into the atmosphere. The metals, associated with particles of various sizes, are released from the plant surfaces, and the loss mechanism is influenced by growth conditions, the concentrations of the elements in the leaves, and meteorological factors. For plants whose leaves have about equal concentrations of zinc and lead, the amount of zinc released is usually two orders of magnitude greater than the amount of lead. The significance of the process is discussed in terms of the overall trace metal composition of atmospheric particulates.

Submitted on June 15, 1976
Revised on September 13, 1976


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Removal of Uranium(VI) from Solution by Fungal Biomass and Fungal Wall-Related Biopolymers.
M. GALUN, P. KELLER, D. MALKI, H. FELDSTEIN, E. GALUN, S. M. SIEGEL, and B. Z. SIEGEL (1983)
Science 219, 285-286
   Abstract »    PDF »
Lead in albacore: guide to lead pollution in Americans.
D. Settle and C. Patterson (1980)
Science 207, 1167-1176
   Abstract »    PDF »


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