The Effect of Ionic Strength Zeolite on the Adsorption of Arsenic and Some Essential Nutrients for Wheat in Contaminated Soils by Munitions and Chemical Weapons

The concern about the war and the threat of terrorism and weapons application and prohibited weapons is growing; on the other hand, the contamination of soil, plant and disease outbreaks in the community is increasing. The main problem with crops, especially wheat in the contaminated soils of war zones, are associated with the high concentrations of heavy metals and toxic things, especially arsenic. Zeolite is one of the solutions to the problem of contaminated soils in war affected areas. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the ionic strength of zeolite on the adsorption of arsenic and nutritional properties of wheat in contaminated soils including weapons. The experiment was carried out in a factorial arrangement involving a randomized complete design with three replications. Treatments included four levels of zeolite 2.5 (a4), 1.5 (a3), 0.5 (a2), 0 (a1) percent of the weight of the soil and two soil recourses, one obtained from out of the war zone (without contamination) (b1) and other one was from the contaminated soil to weapons (b2). The results showed that soils contaminated by weapons increased the concentrations of arsenic in wheat. Also, with the application of Zeolite in the contaminated soil treatments, there was a significant reduction at 1% level and a remarkable increase in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium in the wheat grain in both soils.