Fate of cadmium in the rhizosphere of Arabidopsis halleri grown in a contaminated dredged sediment.

In regions impacted by mining and smelting activities, dredged sediments are often contaminated with metals. Phytotechnologies could be used for their management, but more knowledge on the speciation of metals in the sediment and on their fate after colonization by plant roots is needed. This work was focused on a dredged sediment from the Scarpe river (North of France), contaminated with Zn and Cd.

Metal availability in a highly contaminated, dredged-sediment disposal site: field measurements and geochemical modeling.

Two complementary approaches were used to characterize arsenic and metal mobilizations from a dredged-sediment disposal site: a detailed field study combined with hydrogeochemical modeling. Contaminants in sediments were found to be mainly present as sulfides subject to oxidation. Secondary phases (carbonates, sulfates, (hydr)oxides) were also observed.

Changes in the geochemistry and ecotoxicity of a Zn and Cd contaminated dredged sediment over time after land disposal.

The management of dredged sediments is of environmental concern worldwide since they may be overloaded with myriads of pollutants. For inland waters' sediments, disposal on land is a common practice. For the long-term risks assessment of such a management, a better understanding of the fate of pollutants over time and an assessment of possible associated biological consequences are needed.

Influence of pre-treatment step on PAHs analyses in contaminated soils.

There is no specific standardization for the pre-treatment of a soil sample for PAHs analyses. The ISO/FDIS 14507 method for soil quality gives a guidance for sample pre-treatment before measurement of organic contaminants in soil. It refers to cryogenic crushing which is not so easy to carry out.