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Application of sewage sludge to arable land–soil concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychorinated dibenzo‐ p ‐dioxins, dibenzofurans, and biphenyls, and their accumulation in earthworms
Author(s) -
Matscheko Nadja,
Tysklind Mats,
de Wit Cynthia,
Bergek Sture,
Andersson Rolf,
Sellström Ulla
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620211201
Subject(s) - environmental chemistry , soil water , sewage sludge , polybrominated diphenyl ethers , polychlorinated dibenzofurans , chemistry , polychlorinated dibenzodioxins , arable land , environmental science , zoology , sewage , pollutant , environmental engineering , agriculture , ecology , biology , soil science , organic chemistry
Soils from five agricultural sites, three research sites, and two privately owned farms were analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo‐ p ‐dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybronimated diphenylethers (PBDEs). In soils that had not been treated with sludge (reference soils), the international toxic equivalents (I‐TEQs) were 0.6 to 1.5 pg/g dry matter (DM) for the PCDD/Fs, which are low compared to generally reported background soil levels in Europe. The concentrations of sum of six penta‐ and hexa‐PCBs were 450 to 1,400 pg/g DM. The PBDEs 47 and 99 dominated among the tri‐ to hepta‐PBDEs analyzed (8–80 pg/g DM). The impact of adding 1 to 3 tonnes of sludge (DM) per hectare per year on the concentrations was studied at the three research sites by calculating ratios of the compounds in sludge‐treated soil to reference soil (S/R ratio). The concentrations of I‐TEQs did not increase in the sludge‐treated soil, whereas the S/R ratios for PBDEs were greater than one. Also, although the PCB contents were higher in the sludge‐treated soils, the background sources were more important for the concentrations of PCBs than of PBDEs. The largest increase in the S/R ratios was found at a private farm where large amounts of sludge had been used in the past. Accumulation of the compounds in earthworms from the sites also was investigated. The biota‐soil accumulation factors (BSAFs) of the tested compounds declined in the following order: ortho ‐PCBs ∼ PBDEs > non‐ortho ‐PCBs > 2,3,7,8‐substituted PCDD/Fs. The average BSAF for ortho ‐PCBs was five (organic matter/lipids), and the lowest BSAFs (0.1–0.8) found were for octachlorodibenzo‐ p ‐dioxin. To our knowledge, accumulation of PBDEs in earthworms has not been published previously.