Muhammad Adeel1, Jie Yinn Lee2, Muhammad Zain3, Muhammad Rizwan4, Aamir Nawab5, M A Ahmad6, Muhammad Shafiq7, Hao Yi1, Ghulam Jilani8, Rabia Javed9, R Horton10, Yukui Rui11, Daniel C W Tsang12, Baoshan Xing13. 1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, PR China. 2. Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ITBC), University of Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah 88400, Malaysia. 3. Key Laboratory of Crop Water Use and Regulation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Farmland Irrigation Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Xinxiang, Henan 453003, PR China. 4. Microelement research center, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, PR China. 5. Department of Animal Science, College of Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, PR China. 6. Key Lab of Eco-restoration of Regional Contaminated Environment (Shenyang University), Ministry of Education, Shenyang 11044, PR China. 7. Faculty of biological and agricultural sciences, University of Colima, Mexico. 8. Insititute of Soil Science and SWC, PMAS Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. 9. Department of Multidisciplinary Studies, National University of Medical Sciences, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan. 10. Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA. 11. Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100094, PR China. Electronic address: ruiyukui@163.com. 12. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. 13. Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Rare earth elements (REEs) are gaining attention due to rapid rise of modern industries and technological developments in their usage and residual fingerprinting. Cryptic entry of REEs in the natural resources and environment is significant; therefore, life on earth is prone to their nasty effects. Scientific sectors have expressed concerns over the entry of REEs into food chains, which ultimately influences their intake and metabolism in the living organisms. OBJECTIVES: Extensive scientific collections and intensive look in to the latest explorations agglomerated in this document aim to depict the distribution of REEs in soil, sediments, surface waters and groundwater possibly around the globe. Furthermore, it draws attention towards potential risks of intensive industrialization and modern agriculture to the exposure of REEs, and their effects on living organisms. It also draws links of REEs usage and their footprints in natural resources with the major food chains involving plants, animals and humans. METHODS: Scientific literature preferably spanning over the last five years was obtained online from the MEDLINE and other sources publishing the latest studies on REEs distribution, properties, usage, cycling and intrusion in the environment and food-chains. Distribution of REEs in agricultural soils, sediments, surface and ground water was drawn on the global map, together with transport pathways of REEs and their cycling in the natural resources. RESULTS: Fourteen REEs (Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sm, Tb, Th and Yb) were plighted in this study. Wide range of their concentrations has been detected in agricultural soils (<15.9-249.1 μg g-1) and in groundwater (<3.1-146.2 μg L-1) at various sites worldwide. They have strong tendency to accumulate in the human body, and thus associated with kidney stones. The REEs could also perturb the animal physiology, especially affecting the reproductive development in both terrestrial and aquatic animals. In plants, REEs might affect the germination, root and shoot development and flowering at concentration ranging from 0.4 to 150 mg kg-1. CONCLUSIONS: This review article precisely narrates the current status, sources, and potential effects of REEs on plants, animals, humans health. There are also a few examples where REEs have been used to benefit human health. However, still there is scarce information about threshold levels of REEs in the soil, aquatic, and terrestrial resources as well as living entities. Therefore, an aggressive effort is required for global action to generate more data on REEs. This implies we prescribe an urgent need for inter-disciplinary studies about REEs in order to identify their toxic effects on both ecosystems and organisms.
BACKGROUND: Rare earth elements (REEs) are gaining attention due to rapid rise of modern industries and technological developments in their usage and residual fingerprinting. Cryptic entry of REEs in the natural resources and environment is significant; therefore, life on earth is prone to their nasty effects. Scientific sectors have expressed concerns over the entry of REEs into food chains, which ultimately influences their intake and metabolism in the living organisms. OBJECTIVES: Extensive scientific collections and intensive look in to the latest explorations agglomerated in this document aim to depict the distribution of REEs in soil, sediments, surface waters and groundwater possibly around the globe. Furthermore, it draws attention towards potential risks of intensive industrialization and modern agriculture to the exposure of REEs, and their effects on living organisms. It also draws links of REEs usage and their footprints in natural resources with the major food chains involving plants, animals and humans. METHODS: Scientific literature preferably spanning over the last five years was obtained online from the MEDLINE and other sources publishing the latest studies on REEs distribution, properties, usage, cycling and intrusion in the environment and food-chains. Distribution of REEs in agricultural soils, sediments, surface and ground water was drawn on the global map, together with transport pathways of REEs and their cycling in the natural resources. RESULTS: Fourteen REEs (Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Ho, La, Lu, Nd, Pr, Sm, Tb, Th and Yb) were plighted in this study. Wide range of their concentrations has been detected in agricultural soils (<15.9-249.1 μg g-1) and in groundwater (<3.1-146.2 μg L-1) at various sites worldwide. They have strong tendency to accumulate in the human body, and thus associated with kidney stones. The REEs could also perturb the animal physiology, especially affecting the reproductive development in both terrestrial and aquatic animals. In plants, REEs might affect the germination, root and shoot development and flowering at concentration ranging from 0.4 to 150 mg kg-1. CONCLUSIONS: This review article precisely narrates the current status, sources, and potential effects of REEs on plants, animals, humans health. There are also a few examples where REEs have been used to benefit human health. However, still there is scarce information about threshold levels of REEs in the soil, aquatic, and terrestrial resources as well as living entities. Therefore, an aggressive effort is required for global action to generate more data on REEs. This implies we prescribe an urgent need for inter-disciplinary studies about REEs in order to identify their toxic effects on both ecosystems and organisms.
Authors: Wen-Shen Liu; Jamie S Laird; Chris G Ryan; Ye-Tao Tang; Rong-Liang Qiu; Guillaume Echevarria; Jean-Louis Morel; Antony van der Ent Journal: Ann Bot Date: 2021-07-28 Impact factor: 4.357
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Authors: Bing Cao; Jing Wu; Changlian Xu; Yan Chen; Qing Xie; Li Ouyang; Jingyu Wang Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-02-21 Impact factor: 3.390