Bioaccessiblilty risk assessment of soil using a continuous on-line leaching method

When soil becomes contaminated, it is important to conduct a risk assessment to determine if there is any risk to humans. One way that humans can be exposed to soil is through ingestion where contaminants are made accessible by the body’s saliva, gastric, and intestinal juices. This concept is known as bioaccessibility, and gives a good indication of how well a contaminant can be absorbed into the bloodstream (where it can exert its toxic effects). My research aims to replicate the body’s conditions in the lab, using a temperature-controlled on-line leaching method. By keeping the soil sample in a small tube, and pumping each gastrointestinal matrix through it, we can obtain bioaccessibility results in a fraction of the time when compared to conventional methods. Through comparison with established batch methods, this project will validate the on-line leaching method using standard reference soils, for faster bioaccessibility risk assessments in the future.

Faculty Supervisor:

Diane Beauchemin

Student:

Partner:

British Geological Survey

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

Queen's University

Program: