The study of mercury accumulation by plants depending on the chemical form of the element in the growing media

Abstract

The ability of plants to accumulate pollutants from natural and technogenic environments has found a wide application for cleaning up polluted areas. Most of the works published on this topic are related to the study of the plants efficiency to extract pollutants from polluted areas, including the intensification this process. However, much less attention is paid to the influence of chemical factors on the intensity of the elements accumulation as a function of their speciation. However, the chemical form of the element determines its migration pathways (mobility), bioavailability and toxicity. This issue is in the focus of the present work where the results of the study of mercury accumulation are discussed on the example of white mustard (Sinápis álba) depending on the chemical form of the element initially introduced into the growing matter. We have indicated that methylmercury is the most intensively accumulated species in comparison with mercury chloride and mercury sulfide.