exhibiting pale yellow stripes running the length of the leaf.

In extreme cases, the entire plant may turn white with marginal necrosis (burn) of the leaf. In dicots, Ni toxicity causes an interveinal chlorosis (yellowing) that looks very similar to manganese deciency. Selenium (Se) Natural Occurrence: Only a few rare minerals crooksite and clausthalitecontain Se. It occurs in ue dusts remaining from the processing of copper sulde ores. Today most of the worlds Se comes from electrolytic copper reneries. Uses: Essential nutrient in animal nutrition; component of dandruff shampoos and fungal infection treatments; used in manufacture of ruby-colored glasses and enamels, photoelectric cells, resistors, photographic emulsions, stainless steel, pigments, rubber, metal alloys, textiles, petroleum and medical therapeutic agents Notes: Se benets crop production and is essential to animal nutrition. Deciency causes muscular dystrophy in livestock, known as white muscle disease, and loss of hair. Se content in food and feed crops (for livestock) ranges from 0.11.0 ppm. Levels above 5 ppm cause alkali disease or blind staggers. Too much Se also causes feather loss in poultry and malformation of livestock hooves and teeth. Although elemental Se is not toxic, compounds like hydrogen selenide are extremely toxic.
Se competes with sulfur in plant uptake. When toxic levels of Se are found in forage crops, addition of

Notes: Cu and Zn are essential plant micronutrients. However, at high levels, they may be toxic to plants. They can also bind to soil organic matter and become unavailable to plants. Higher availability is usually associated with low pH. Plants vary in their sensitivity to Cu and Zn. Based on eld observation, critical toxic levels for plants that are not unusually sensitive are 60 ppm (NCDA&CS soil test Cu-I = 3000) and 120 ppm (NCDA&CS soil test Zn-I = 3000) for Cu and Zn, respectively. Peanuts are extremely sensitive to Zn, and toxicity has been seen at levels as low as 12 ppm (Zn-I = 300). Nutrient management guidelines typically stipulate nding alternative waste application sites when soil levels reach 40 ppm Cu (Cu-I = 2000) or 80 ppm Zn (Zn-I = 2000), but where peanuts are grown, 20 ppm Zn (Zn-I = 500) is the limit. Waste applications should cease when levels reach the critical toxic level as noted above. Since Cu and Zn availability is highly dependent on soil pH, a pH of 6.0 should be maintained on mineral soils. Homeowner Concerns The NCDA&CS soil lab does not test soil samples from home sites where there are concerns about heavy metals. Because our analysis is conducted with Mehlich-3 soil test extractant, the data obtained may not be comparable with guidelines established by U.S. regulatory or health agencies. If health concerns do exist and soil analysis is desired for this purpose, contact a private lab and request the approved EPA tests for total metals. For a list of private labs that may be able to provide assistance, visit h2o.enr.state.nc.us/lab/nccert.htm. Specic concerns about metals with regard to human health should be addressed to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov U.S. Environmental Protection Agencywww.epa.gov N.C. Public Healthwww.ncpublichealth.com or local public health agencies.

Agronomic Division

Heavy Metals
in North Carolina Soils
Occurrence & Significance

sulfur is a common remedial treatment. A sulfur rate of 1525 lb/acre should be sufcient to reduce the toxic effect in animals. If Se levels are high, consult with an animal nutrition specialist and submit a forage sample for analysis. Copper (Cu) & Zinc (Zn) Natural Occurrence: Cu occurs in rocks, soil, water, air, plants and animals; Zn is a common element found in air, soil, water and all foods. Uses: CuComponent in metal alloys; electrical wiring; some water pipes; preservatives for wood, leather and fabrics; and some agricultural fungicides ZnWidely used in industry to make dye, paint, rubber, wood preservatives and ointments

David H. Hardy, Jeana Myers and Catherine Stokes www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/

revised September 2008

N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Soils normally contain low background levels of heavy metals. However, in areas where agricultural, industrial or municipal wastes are land-applied as fertilizer, concentrations may be higher. Excessive levels of heavy metals can be hazardous to man, animals and plants. By denition, a heavy metal has a specic gravity of about 5.0 or greater and is usually poisonous. The term heavy metal, however, is often broadly applied to include other potentially hazardous elements, even if they do not meet the strict chemical denition. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) regulates levels of the heavy metals arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) and selenium (Se) on waste application sites. Agricultural, industrial and municipal wastes can only be applied to sites permitted by NCDENR. This process requires a soil test to establish baseline levels of the regulated heavy metals. Permit renewal requires additional testingusually every ve years and possibly at more frequent intervalsto assess heavy metal accumulation in the soil. Heavy metals soil tests are conducted by the NCDA&CS Agronomic Division from April through December for a fee of $25 per sample. The Mehlich-3 extractant is used to measure levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel and selenium, according to NCDENR regulations. Measurements for copper and zinctwo heavy metals that are essential plant nutrientsare also provided on the routine soil fertility report that accompanies each heavy metals report. Here is some background informationnatural occurrence, industrial uses, degree of hazard and likelihood of accumulation in the soilfor each heavy metal measured by NCDA&CS. Table 1 lists average concentrations from land-application sites in our state. Arsenic (As) Natural Occurrence: As occurs naturally in the mineral mispickel or arsenopyrite. Occasional deposits of elemental As are found, but for the most part, it is a by-product of the commercial treatment of ores of other metals. The U.S. is the largest commercial producer of As. All As compounds are poisonous. Uses: Component in manufacture of bronze materials, reworks, shot, agricultural chemicals, laser materials,

glass, semiconductor materials, wood preservatives, copper and lead alloys and insecticides (most of which are obsolete) Notes: In North Carolina, As levels in groundwater are insignicant. Cadmium (Cd) Natural Occurrence: Greenockite is the only mineral of any consequence that contains Cd. Although Cd does occur in small quantities within zinc ores such as sphalerite, there are no notable occurrences of these minerals in North Carolina. Uses: Component in manufacture of solder, electrical supplies, batteries, barriers to control nuclear ssion, phosphors in the production of televisions, anticorrosive coatings for metals, bearing alloys, amalgam in dentistry and worm treatments for swine and poultry Notes: Sewage sludge containing Cd and other heavy metals is frequently applied to agricultural land as a fertilizer material. Regular consumption of plants containing 3.0 ppm Cd can poison man and animals. It interferes with enzymes and other proteins. In livestock, it accumulates in the kidneys, spleen and liver. In humans, Cd interferes with the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus, causing a painful bone disease.

Chromium (Cr) Natural Occurrence: Chromite, the principal ore, occurs in some mines in North Carolina. Uses: Component in manufacture of steel, stainless steel, alloys, metal plating for prevention of corrosion, coloring agents for emerald green glass, chemical analysis, leather tanning, textile color pigments and mordants, and trace minerals essential to the nutrition of man and animals Notes: Cr functions in mammalian glucose metabolism and appears to be essential to man and animals. Lead (Pb) Natural Occurrence: Rare in nature, Pb occurs in the minerals anglesite, cerrussite, minimis and galena. It is usually obtained from galena by a roasting process. Uses: Component in manufacture of older paints, older plumbing hardware, ammunition, solder, metals, storage batteries, sound and vibration absorbers, lead gasoline, obsolete insecticides (lead arsenate), lead crystal and int glass Notes: Pb can cause health problems, particularly in children. It accumulates in the body and can build to toxic levels under continuous exposure. Concerns about Pb poisoning resulted in the elimination of Pb from gasoline, paint and plumbing lines. Nickel (Ni)

Table 1. Average concentrations in North Carolina

soil samples analyzed for heavy metals (200507)* Heavy Metal parts per million As 4.5 Cd 0.1 Cr 0.2 Cu 9.2 Pb 4.2 Ni 0.8 Se 0.2 Zn 27.2
* Based on NCDA&CS analysis (using Mehlich-3 extractant) of 3,286 soil samples from various sites where tests for heavy metals were requested

Natural Occurrence: Ni is a constituent of most meteorites, and its presence is one of the criteria used for identifying them. Iron meteorites or siderites may contain from 5 to nearly 20 percent Ni. It is obtained commercially from pentlandite found in the Sudbury region of Ontario, which produces 30 percent of the worlds supply. Uses: Component in manufacture of stainless steel, other corrosion-resistant alloys, coins, nickel steel for armor plates, burglarproof vaults, vegetable oils, ceramics and greenish glass, Al-Ni-Co magnets and Ni-Cd batteries Notes: Plants containing more than 100 ppm Ni develop symptoms of toxicity. Toxicity in grasses or other monocots closely resembles iron deficiency,