A plant-based bioremediation (phytoremediation) strategy has been developed
and shown to be effective for the clean-up of soil contaminated by the bre
akdown products of the chemical warfare agent (CWA), yperite. The method in
volves exploiting the plant growth hormone, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), to
intensify the phytoremediation. For determination of the yperite breakdown
products, gas chromatography is used.
Soil and plant samples were analysed with a gas chromatograph fitted with a
n atomic emission detector. The method of standard-free determination was e
mployed to identify sulphur-containing substances (SCSs). A series of soil
tests was conducted, which showed that the level of SCSs decreased 4, 8, an
d more than 20-fold compared with that found in contaminated soil. This dec
rease was dependent upon the IAA concentrations used for plant treatment. T
he treated plants accumulated 2.7 to 2.9-fold larger amounts of the SCSs th
an did the untreated plants. Owing to its simplicity, environmental safety
and inexpensiveness, the method can be recommended for the restoration of s
oil fertility in areas of storage and destruction of blister CWAs.