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Decontamination of Lead Contaminated Soil Using EDTA as a Chelating Agent

Kabilan N and Muttharam M

Soil is an important natural resource. Pollution and contamination of soil is very common in the present-day scenario. Lead contamination in soil is a serious hazard posing a great thread to environmental sustainability. Lead contaminations in the soil can adversely impact the health of animals and human when they eat plants or animals that have themselves been affected by soil contamination. Remediation of lead contaminated soil is therefore essential. Contaminated soil samples were collected from Perungudi Dumping Ground, a municipal solid waste dumpsite. Heavy metal quantification technique was done using ICP-AEP (Inductively coupled plasma–Atomic emission spectrometer) in the laboratory. Concentration of different metals in the soil samples was found. For the present study, the concentration of lead alone was compared with Indian Compost Standards. The results showed the concentration to be above he regulatory limits. Therefore, the samples were subjected to decontamination technique. Decontamination technique was done using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid EDTA. After applying decontamination technique, the lead concentration of the decontaminated samples was analyzed again using ICP-AES. Results showed the lead concentration to be below the Indian Compost Standards. The average efficiency of the EDTA technique was found to be 77%. This showed that the EDTA technique applied to be an effective.