Tungsten contamination, behavior and remediation in complex environmental settings

Shiv Bolan; Hasintha Wijesekara; Achali Ireshika; Tao Zhang; Mingjun Pu; Gianniantonio Petruzzelli; Francesca Pedron; Deyi Hou; Liuwei Wang; Sarah Zhou; Hoachen Zhao; Kadambot H M Siddique; Hailong Wang; Jörg Rinklebe; M B Kirkham; Nanthi Bolan

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2023.108276

Tungsten contamination, behavior and remediation in complex environmental settings

Environ Int. 2023 Oct 19:181:108276. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108276. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) National Research Network, Australia.
² Department of Natural Resources, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya 70140, Sri Lanka.
³ Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention-control and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystem, National Council of Research, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
⁵ School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.
⁶ UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
⁷ UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
⁸ Biochar Engineering Technology Research Center of Guangdong Province, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311300, People's Republic of China.
⁹ University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste-Management, Laboratory of Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal, Germany. Electronic address: rinklebe@uni-wuppertal.de.
¹⁰ Department of Agronomy, Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States.
¹¹ UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) National Research Network, Australia. Electronic address: Nanthi.Bolan@uwa.edu.au.

PMID: 39492254
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108276

Abstract

Tungsten (W) is a rare element and present in the earth's crust mainly as iron, aluminium, and calcium minerals including wolframite and scheelite. This review aims to offer an overview on the current knowledge on W pollution in complex environmental settlings, including terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, linking to its natural and anthropogenic sources, behavior in soil and water, environmental and human health hazards, and remediation strategies. Tungsten is used in many alloys mainly as wafers, which have wide industrial applications, such as incandescent light bulb filaments, X-ray tubes, arc welding electrodes, radiation shielding, and industrial catalysts. The rigidity and high density of W enable it to be suitable for defence applications replacing lead. In soil, W metal is oxidised to the tungstate anion and occurs in oxidation states from - 2 to + 6, with the most prevalent oxidation state of + 6. However, recently, people have been alerted to the risk posed by W alloys and its particulates, which can cause cancer and have other detrimental health effects in animals and humans. The population is subject to W pollution in the workplace by breathing, ingestion, and dermal contact. Remediation of W-polluted soil and aquatic environments can be accomplished via stabilization or solubilization. Stabilization of W in soil and groundwater using immobilizing agents inhibits the bioavailability of W, thereby preventing the contaminant from reaching the food chain, while solubilization of W in soil involving mobilizing materials accelerates the elimination of W via soil washing and root absorption. Future research opportunities covering risk-based remediation of W pollution in these complex settings are presented.

Keywords: Tungsten bioavailability; Tungsten dynamics; Tungsten immobilization; Tungsten remediation; Tungsten toxicity; Wolfram.

Publication types

Review