Red mud a byproduct of aluminum production contains soluble vanadium that causes genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in higher plants

Mišík, Miroslav; Burke, Ian T.; Reismüller, Matthias; Pichler, Clemens; Rainer, Bernhard; Mišíková, Katarina; Mayes, William M.; Knasmueller, Siegfried

Abstract

Red mud (RM) is a byproduct of aluminum production; worldwide between 70 and 120 million tons is produced annually. We analyzed RM which was released in the course of the Kolontar disaster in Hungary into the environment in acute and genotoxicity experiments with plants which are widely used for environmental monitoring. We detected induction of micronuclei which reflect chromosomal damage in tetrads of Tradescantia and in root cells of Allium as well as retardation of root growth with contaminated soils and leachates. Chemical analyses showed that RM contains metals, in particular high concentrations of vanadium. Follow-up experiments indicated that vanadate causes the effects in the plants. This compound causes also in humans DNA damage and positive results were obtained in carcinogenicity studies. Since it was found also in RM from other production sites our findings indicate that its release in the environment is a global problem which should be studied in more detail.

Citation

Mišík, M., Burke, I. T., Reismüller, M., Pichler, C., Rainer, B., Mišíková, K., Mayes, W. M., & Knasmueller, S. (2014). Red mud a byproduct of aluminum production contains soluble vanadium that causes genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in higher plants. Science of the Total Environment, 493, 883-890. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.052

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 13, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Jul 5, 2014
• Publication Date: Sep 15, 2014
• Deposit Date: Apr 2, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 12, 2021
• Journal: Science of the Total Environment
• Print ISSN: 0048-9697
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 493
• Pages: 883-890
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.052
• Keywords: Red mud; Tradescantia; Micronuclei; Allium; Vanadium
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/583497
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969714009085?via%3Dihub