Preliminary leaching column and greenhouse plant uptake studies were conducted in two soils with contrasting characteristics amended with varying rates (0 to 148.3 Mg ha-1) of incinerated sewage sludge (ISS) and weathered sewage sludge (WISS) to estimate the leaching losses of trace elements from the soils amended with incinerated sewage sludge by products and to evaluate the uptake and accumulation of these elements in various parts of Sorghum vulgaris var. sudanense Hitche. (“Sorgrass''), a Sorghum-Sudan grass hybrid. Results of this study indicated that leaching of Cr, Cd, Zn, Cu, Ni, Fe and Mn from soils amended with ISS and WISS increased with increasing rates of amendment. Results of the leaching column study further revealed greater leaching losses from coarse-textured soil compared to medium-textured soil and also from ISS amended soils than with WISS amended soils. Results further suggested that the type of element and the interaction between the element and soil properties affected the leachability of various trace elements. The uptake study indicated uptake and accumulation of trace elements by plant parts increased with increasing rates of amendments. Greater plant uptake and accumulation of trace elements were observed in plant parts grown in soils amended with ISS compared to that of WISS. Results also indicated a greater accumulation of trace elements in below ground part of the plants (roots) compared to that was observed in above ground parts (shoots). Limited data obtained from this one season preliminary studies demonstrated that incinerated sewage sludge products from wastewater treatment plants could be used as soil amendments at low application (no more than 24.7 Mg ha-1) for optimum plant growth, and dry matter yield without resulting in substantial accumulation of metals in plant parts at concentrations above the recommended critical limits and without causing significant leaching losses of various trace elements. It is imperative that long-term field studies are necessary to evaluate the long-term impact of using these new products in leaching and accumulation of various trace elements in plants and soils.

In Hypericumspecies some specimens have been found to display higher levels of the toxic heavy metal Cd than the proposed guide value of 0.5mgkg. Plant and soil samples from various regions in Eastern Austria were collected to study the variability in the Cd content of the herbs and relate it to selected soil properties and soil micronutrient contents. The soils contained between 0.01 and 0.44mgkg-¹Cd in the dry soil. Altogether about 7% of the collected plant samples exceeded 0.5mgkg-¹Cd of dry shoots, the proposed guide value for the drug Herba Hyperici. Plants low in Cd were found on sites in the Alpenvorland, the Hainburger Berge, the Eastern Viennese Basin and the Northern Limestone Alps where the levels did not exceed 0.3mgkg-¹Cd of dry shoots. Higher Cd levels in the plants were present in material from the Waldviertel, the Southern Wienerwald and the Semmering region where often bioaccumulation factors for Cd above 1 could be calculated. In these regions the soil pH and carbonate content was somewhat lower than in other regions whereas the soil organic carbon varied greatly. In the Waldviertel some plants from a field were somewhat higher in Cd than nearby plants from the natural vegetation. In a regression analysis, the soil pH, soil organic carbon and soil Cd content were the main factors influencing Cd accumulation in the plant shoots.

The objectives of this study were to simplify sample preparation and validate mercury detection in soil and plant samples using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). A set of mercury contaminated and mercury free soil and plant samples were digested and analyzed by ICP-AES, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy (CVAAS). Results show that mercury measurements in soil and plant samples using ICP-AES were in agreement with those analyzed using ICP-MS and CVAAS. The concentrations of mercury in soils and plant tissues determined by ICP-AES were 92.2% and 90.5% of those determined by CVAAS and ICP-MS, respectively. Digestion of soil samples with 4 M HNO₃ and direct measurement by ICP-AES without reduction of Hg²⁺ to Hg⁰ gave a reasonable and acceptable recovery (92%) for determining Hg in soils. We conclude that ICP-AES with optimized conditions (addition of gold chloride, extension of washing time, linear working range, and selection of wavelength - 194 nm) resulted in reliable detection of mercury in environmental samples.