Title: Influences of single and binary metal mixtures on microbial growth in sandy soil of infiltration site

Authors: Kyung-Seok Ko; Kyoochul Ha; In Chul Kong

Addresses: Groundwater Department, Geologic Environment Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon 34132, South Korea ' Groundwater Department, Geologic Environment Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon 34132, South Korea ' Department of Environmental Engineering, Yeungnam University, Kyungbuk 38541, South Korea

Abstract: Effects of single and binary mixture metals on microbial biofilm growth were evaluated on silty-sandy soil collected from an artificial storage and recovery (ASR) site. The effects of metals on the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and viable cell count (VCC) showed considerable differences depending on the metal types and concentrations, whereas dehydrogenase activity (DHA) did not change significantly. The sensitivity of the ATP and VCC measurements was also greater than that of DHA. Toxicity based on the ATP content was Cu ≈ Cd > Cr ≈ As(III) ≈ As(V). In the presence of the binary metal mixtures, a synergistic and additive effect was commonly observed for the ATP contents and VCC, respectively. Therefore, understanding the effects of metal mixtures is essential for proper assessment of the contaminated environment. This study also indicated that the evaluation of metal effects may be considerably influenced by the endpoints of microbial growth measurement.

Keywords: adenosine triphosphate; ATP; dehydrogenase activity; DHA; metal mixture; microbial growth; viable cell count; VCC.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2018.097311

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2018 Vol.63 No.3, pp.178 - 191

Accepted: 22 Jun 2018
Published online: 14 Jan 2019 *

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