Assessment of the Potential of Vetiver Grass in Mitigation of Dioxin and Arsenic in Contaminated Soils at Bien Hoa Airbase

Abstract

Abstract: This study aims to initially assess the potential use of Monto vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides L.) in mitigating dioxin contamination and the treatment of arsenic contaminated soils. The experiment was carried out in the field, consisting of 3 lots of 100 m² each. Monto vetiver grass was planted on November 25, 2014 in two groups, lots 1 and 2, with the initial dioxin levels in soil of about 1000-1800 ppt TEQ, arsenic is about 25-30 mg/kg dry soil. Of which, The first group (G1) received DECOM 1, a soil supplement promoting growth of indigenous microorganisms in the rhizosphere, and the second group (G2) as a control, without supplement; the third group, lots 3, was left as blank (without Vetiver). The analyzed results showed that Vetiver grass was able to absorb dioxin into grass roots and was then transported to grass shoots; dioxin in soil was significantly decreased in both G1 and G2 and was slightly stronger in G1 compared to G2. The correlation between dioxin content in soil samples and root samples (p = 0.02, r = 0.53) showed the tight relationship between them. In addition, the results also showed that Vetiver can take up arsenic into its roots and tranported to the shoots and the abiliy of Vetiver in remediation of arsenic contaminated soils.

In conclusion, the results confirm that Monto vetiver is suitable for phytoremediation of moderately dioxin and arsenic contaminated sites, particularly when combined with DECOM1

Keywords: Vetiver grass, dioxin contaminated soils, Arsenic pollution, Phytoremediation.

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