Effects of fluoride pollution on the mobilization and leaching of aluminum in soils

The objective of this study is to demonstrate the effects of fluoride pollution on the mobilization and leaching of aluminum in soils. For this reason different soil samples were percolated under laboratory conditions with solutions containing F, such as NaF, KF and Na3AlF6, which are known to be constituents of aerosols emitted from Al smelters. The leaching effects of these F solutions were compared with those of distilled H2O, KCl and NaCl solutions, respectively. For all soil samples Al was leached more effectively when the percolating solution contained F instead of Cl. Fluoride-containing solutions induce substantial losses of Al. The leaching losses from the contaminated soil were higher than those from the uncontaminated soils. In the uncontaminated soils the losses from the acid soil were higher than those from the calcareous soil.