EDTA and urease effects on Hg accumulation by Lepidium sativum Original Research Article

The phytoextraction process was conducted under laboratory conditions with the use of garden cress plants (Lepidium sativum). The experiment was carried out in a model soil, which was characterized before conducting the process. Inorganic forms of mercury (HgCl2, HgSO4, Hg(NO3)2) were used for contamination of the soil. The phytoextraction process was conducted after EDTA application to the soil and after urease application. Also the influence of simultaneous addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and urease into the soil on phytoextraction process was measured. In all variants of phytoextraction process the total mercury concentrations in roots, stems and leaves of garden cress were determined. The result showed that garden cress accumulated mercury from soil. The overall maximum concentration of mercury in its compounds was found in roots of the plant. In all cases, before addition of urease and EDTA, the translocation process and distribution of mercury in the plant tissues were limited. The addition of urease caused an increase of enzyme activity in the soil and at the same time caused an increase of mercury concentration in plant tissues. Application of EDTA increased solubility of mercury and caused an increase of metal accumulation by plants. After simultaneous addition of EDTA and urease into the soil garden cress accumulated about 20% of total mercury concentration in the soil. Most of mercury compounds were accumulated in leaves and stems of the plants (46.0–56.9% of total mercury concentration in the plant tissues).