Metal accumulation in Salvia Officinalis grown in contaminated soil from a waste mining dump

The aim of this study was to investigate the process of accumulation of some toxic metals in Salvia Officinalis cultivated in-situ and also in controlled laboratory experiment. In situ experiment was located in a highly polluted area, situated in the proximity of abandoned gold mine and a waste dump. In the study were collected and analyzed four different samples of Salvia Officinalis, grown on polluted soil situated in different geographic directions around a waste dump. The analytical investigation indicated that concentration for arsenic (16 ÷ 86 mg/kg dry matter), cadmium (4.0 ÷ 11 mg/kg dry matter), lead (110 ÷ 214 mg/kg dry matter) and manganese (1440 ÷ 1700 mg/kg dry matter) were situated over the intervention limit. In laboratory experiments, Salvia Officinalis was cultivated in a clean soil (blank experiment) and also in a polluted soil in order to investigate the metal accumulation in inflorescence and leaves. The results indicated the presence of cadmium (3.6 mg/kg ÷8.4 mg/kg), nickel (12 mg/kg) and manganese (170 mg/kg ÷ 680 mg/kg) in some parts of Salvia Officinalis.
The content of metallic elements from plants and soils were determinate using ICP-EOS Optima 5300 DV Perkin Elmer Spectrometer. Conclusion of the study indicated that metals migrate from soils to vegetation, as result of acidification conditions, produced by disposal of the tailings and waste waters around mines. Even the total content of nickel was situated in the normal range in soil, nickel was found in Salvia Officinalis as result of high percentage of bioavailability.