Researchers from University of Western Australia Provide Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Risk Management (Boron Contamination and Its Risk Management In Terrestrial and Aquatic Environmental Settings): Risk Management

2023 OCT 17 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Researchers detail new data in Risk Management. According to news reporting from Perth, Australia, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Boron (B) is released to terrestrial and aquatic environments through both natural and anthropogenic sources. This review describes the current knowledge on B contamination in soil and aquatic environments in relation to its geogenic and anthropogenic sources, biogeochemistry, environmental and human health impacts, remediation approaches, and regulatory practices.”

Financial support for this research came from National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia.

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from the University of Western Australia, “The common naturally occurring sources of B include borosilicate minerals, volcanic eruptions, geothermal and groundwater streams, and marine water. Boron is extensively used to manufacture fiberglass, thermalresistant borosilicate glass and porcelain, cleaning detergents, vitreous enamels, weedicides, fertilizers, and B-based steel for nuclear shields. Anthropogenic sources of B released into the environment include wastewater for irrigation, B fertilizer application, and waste from mining and processing industries. Boron is an essential element for plant nutrition and is taken up mainly as boric acid molecules. Although B deficiency in agricultural soils has been observed, B toxicity can inhibit plant growth in soils under arid and semiarid regions. High B intake by humans can be detrimental to the stomach, liver, kidneys and brain, and eventually results in death. Amelioration of soils and water sources enriched with B can be achieved by immobilization, leaching, adsorption, phytoremediation, reverse osmosis, and nanofiltration. The development of cost-effective technologies for B removal from B-rich irrigation water including electrodialysis and electrocoagulation techniques is likely to help control the predominant anthropogenic input of B to the soil.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Future research initiatives for the sustainable remediation of B contamination using advanced technologies in soil and water environments are also recommended.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Boron Contamination and Its Risk Management In Terrestrial and Aquatic Environmental Settings. The Science of The Total Environment, 2023;894. The Science of The Total Environment can be contacted at: Elsevier, Radarweg 29, 1043 Nx Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Nanthi Bolan, University of Western Australia, Uwa Sch Agr & Environm, Perth, Wa 6009, Australia. Additional authors for this research include Shiv Bolan, Haochen Zhao, Kadambot H.m., Hasintha Wijesekara, Dhulmy Amarasiri, Tao Zhang, Peter Ragalyi, Mark Rekasi, Milka Brdar-Jokanovic, Jui-Yen Lin, Lokesh P. Padhye, Liuwei Wang, Joerg Rinklebe, Hailong Wang and M. B. Kirkham.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164744. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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