Selenium in pollen gathered by bees foraging on fly ash-grown plants

Journal Article · Sat Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1977 · Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01683714· OSTI ID:5195859

De Jong, D; Morse, R A; Gutenmann, W H; Lisk, D J

Fly ash is the material collected in the stacks of coal burning electric power-generating plants by electrostatic precipitators. About 26 million metric tons of fly ash was estimated to have been produced in 1975 (BRACKETT, 1970). Aside from a small percentage of the material which is used as a base material for roads and in concrete, the bulk of it is deposited in landfills. It was first reported by Gutenmann et al. (1976) that sweet clover, found voluntarily growing on a fly ash landfill site, contained up to 200 ppM of selenium. Fly ashes from 21 states were found to contain the element. Cabbage grown on each of these fly ashes added (7 percent w/w) to soil was shown to absorb selenium in proportion to its concentration in the particular ash (GUTENMANN et al., 1976). The percentage of fly ash in soil was also shown to dictate the extent of selenium absorption by a variety of plants (FURR et al., 1976). In the work reported, pollen collected by honey bees foraging on plants growing on a fly ash landfill was analyzed for selenium and compared with that collected by bees from the same plants growing on soil.

• Research Organization: Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY
• OSTI ID: 5195859
• Journal Information: Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States), Journal Name: Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States) Vol. 18:4; ISSN BECTA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
560303 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Plants-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AEROSOL WASTES
AIR POLLUTION
ANIMAL FEEDS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIOMASS
CHEMISTRY
CLOVER
CONTAMINATION
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FLY ASH
FOOD
FORAGE
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
GAMETES
GERM CELLS
LEGUMINOSAE
MANAGEMENT
PLANTS
POLLEN
POLLUTION
POWER PLANTS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SANITARY LANDFILLS
SELENIUM
SEMIMETALS
SOIL CHEMISTRY
SOILS
STACKS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES