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Fate and bioavailability of C-14-pyrene and C-14-lindane in sterile natural and artificial soils and the influence of aging

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>12/2012
<mark>Journal</mark>Environmental Pollution
Volume171
Number of pages6
Pages (from-to)93-98
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Soil organic matter is used to extrapolate the toxicity and bioavailability of organic pollutants between different soils. However, it has been shown that other factors such as microbial activity are crucial. The aim of this study was to investigate if sterilization can reduce differences in the fate and bioavailability of organic pollutants between different soils. Three natural soils with increasing total organic carbon (TOC) content were collected and three artificial soils were prepared to obtain similar TOCs. Soils were sterilized and spiked with C-14-pyrene and C-14-lindane. Total C-14 radioactivity, HPCD extractability, and bioaccumulation in Eisenia fetida were measured over 56 days. When compared to non-sterile soils, differences between the natural and artificial soils and the influence of soil-contaminant contact time were generally reduced in the sterile soils (especially with middle TOC). The results indicate the possibility of using sterile soils as "the worst case scenario" in soil ecotoxicity studies. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.