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Environmental fate & pathways

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Citric acid and salts form naturally in biological systems as a by-product of glycolysis and will ultimately mineralise. Citric acid is readily biodegradable and work on other soluble salts suggests that the type of metal ion does not inhibit degradation rates. Chromium has been found non-toxic to biodegradation test systems.

Chromium(III) in soil is mostly present as insoluble carbonate and oxide of chromium(III); therefore, it will not be mobile in soil. The solubility of chromium(III) in soil and its mobility may increase due to the formation of soluble complexes with organic matter in soil, with a lower soil pH potentially facilitating complexation (Avudainayagam et al. 2003).

Chromium has a low mobility for translocation from roots to the aboveground parts of plants (Calder 1988; Cary 1982; EPA 1984a, 1985a; King 1988; Stackhouse and Benson 1989).

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