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Understanding transport and fate of phosphorus and heavy metals, which arise from a number of industrial, mining and agricultural activities, provide a basis for explaining their capacity to accumulate in agricultural soils and plants that grow on these soils. It is also useful for assessing the potential for these metals to move into groundwater and surface water that can produce adverse effects on human or ecological health. The extent of movement of a metal in the soil system is, intimately related to the solution and surface chemistry of the soil and to the specific properties of the metal and associated waste matrix.The retention mechanisms of metals added to soils include sorption desorption by the solid phase and precipitation in soil solution, these mechanisms correlated with some soil properties as pH, redox potential, surface area, cation exchange capacity. organic mater content, clay content, iron and manganese oxide content, and carbonate content (McLean and Bledsoe., 1992). In addition to soil properties, consideration must be given to the type of metal, its concentration, the presence of competing ions, complexing ligands, the pH and redox potential of the soil-waste matrix. |
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