ABSTRACT
Various
metals, including zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr), gallium
(Ga), lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and indium (In), may be released and cause contamination when scrapped end-of-life (EoL)
Cu(InGa)Se2 thin-film
solar panel (CIGS
TFSP) is buried in the soil. In this study, we grew Brassica
parachinensis L. H. Bariley (VegBrassica) in three different types of soils, namely, a commercial soil, a Mollisol, and an Oxisol, which had been contaminated by CIGS TFSP to various extents. The concentrations of contaminants in
these soils were positively correlated with both the amount of CIGS TFSP added
and the burial period. Plants grew well in commercial soil and Mollisol, but those
in Oxisol showed prominent signs of chlorosis and died after
30 days. The bioaccumulation
factor (BF) and concentration of Zn in VegBrassica grown
in commercial soil with 10% of CIGS TFSP added were 3.61 and 296 mg/kg,
respectively, while
the BF and concentration of In of VegBrassica grown
in Mollisol were 3.80 and 13.72 mg/kg,
respectively. The results showed that
soils were contaminated by metals released from CIGS TFSP, and different
adsorption patterns were observed for VegBrassica depending
on which types of metals associated with the soil properties.