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ACCUMULATION OF PERCHLORATE IN TOBACCO PLANTS AND TOBACCO PRODUCTS
Citation:
Wolfe, N L., J J. Ellington, A W. Garrison, J J. Evans, AND J Avants. ACCUMULATION OF PERCHLORATE IN TOBACCO PLANTS AND TOBACCO PRODUCTS. Presented at 220th American Chemical Society National Meeting, Washington, DC, August 20-24, 2000.
Impact/Purpose:
Elucidate and model the underlying processes (physical, chemical, enzymatic, biological, and geochemical) that describe the species-specific transformation and transport of organic contaminants and nutrients in environmental and biological systems. Develop and integrate chemical behavior parameterization models (e.g., SPARC), chemical-process models, and ecosystem-characterization models into reactive-transport models.
Description:
Previous field and laboratory studies with vascular plants have shown that perchlorate is transported from perchlorate fortified soils and is accumulated in the plant tissues and organs. This paper reports results of initial investigations on the accumulation of perchlorate in tobacco plants grown in soils amended with Chilean nitrate fertilizers. Methods were developed for the analysis of perchlorate in soils, tobacco leaves, and selected commercial tobacco products based on aqueous extractions from freeze-dried material. Analytical methods based on ion chromatography (IC), capillary electrophoresis (CE), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were developed for both qualitative and quantitative analyses of perchlorate. Results show that perchlorate is accumulated by tobacco plants into the lamina and midrib of the leaves from soils amended with Chilean nitrate fertilizer containing perchlorate as a natural impurity. Also, perchlorate can persist over an extended period of time and under a variety of industrial processes as shown by its presence in off-the-shelf tobacco products including cigarettes, cigars, and pouch and plug chewing tobaccos in concentrations ranging from 2 to 149 mg/kg on a dry-weight basis.