Managing adverse soil chemical environments
Date
2013
Authors
Hodson, M.E.
Donner, E.
Editors
Gregory, P.J.
Nortcliff, S.
Nortcliff, S.
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Book chapter
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Source details - Title: Soil Conditions and Plant Growth, 2013 / Gregory, P.J., Nortcliff, S. (ed./s), Ch.7, pp.195-237
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Abstract
All metals are potentially toxic. As the fifteenth to sixteenth century physician Paracelsus said ‘the dose determines the response’. However, within studies of contaminated soils/adverse environments, there is a clear perception of typical potentially toxic metals. These are often erroneously referred to as heavy metals, an ill-defined term (Duffus, 2002 ; Hodson, 2004 ) that is used as a synonym for nasty metals that have a toxic effect. In many respects, the phrase ‘potentially toxic metal’ is as unsatisfactory as ‘heavy metal’ since, as Paracelsus tells us, all metals, indeed all substances, can be toxic. However, the phrase does at least make the point that the metals in question though present need not be having a toxic effect. The majority of studies concerned with potentially toxic metals are concerned with Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn, and examples of case studies in this section will focus on these elements.
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Copyright 2013 Blackwell Publishing