Antimony Pollution in Water and Soil and Its Ecotoxicological Effects on Plants and Microorganisms

The ever-increasing antimony(Sb) pollution has drawn more and more attention from scientists and governments.Sb pollution in water and soil and its ecotoxicological effects on plants and microorganisms are reviewed in this paper.Phytoaccumulation of Sb varies greatly with plant species and contamination sites.The translocation coefficients of Sb from plant roots to above-ground biomass also varies greatly with plant species.Chemical forms of Sb exist mainly at +3 and +5 in aquatic environment and are affected by the redox conditions.Bioaccumulation of Sb in aquatic environment focuses on the algae.The mechanisms involved in adsorption and partition of Sb inside cell are unclear.So far little information was available on environmental behavior of Sb and its toxicity to higher plants and microbes.The transport and transformation of Sb in pedosphere,hydrosphere and atmosphere and among them,and the molecular mechanisms of toxicity of Sb to higher plants and microorganisms need further study.