Search results for "Soil Pollutants"
showing 9 items of 159 documents
Effects of Pentachlorophenol and Biotic Interactions on Soil Fauna and Decomposition in Humus Soil
1995
In a laboratory experiment, effects of chemical stress (pentachlorophenol, PCP, at concentrations of 0, 50, and 500 mg/kg) and biotic interactions (nematodes in the presence or absence of collembolas and enchytraeids) on the community structure of soil animals and decomposition processes were studied. PCP was strongly adsorbed to humus that contained 65% organic matter. Numbers of fungal-feeding nematodes decreased significantly at the highest PCP concentration, while no effects were found in bacterial feeders. There were differences in the numbers of nematodes between different animal combinations, but at the highest PCP concentration, collembolas and enchytraeids had no effect on them. Nu…
Contamination from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the soil of a botanic garden localized next to a former manufacturing gas plant in Pale…
2010
The Botanical Garden lies within the city of Palermo, a few meters away from one of the largest unused Manufacturing Gas Plant in Sicily. The total concentrations of PAHs (23 compounds) in the soil of Botanical Garden ranged from 947 to 18,072 microg/kg. The wide range of PAH concentrations (RSD=84%) found in the soil samples indicates heterogeneous levels of contamination in the area and this can be explained by considering the different tree distributions which prevents the homogeneous deposition of pollutants on the soil. Soils collected in the Botanical Garden generally showed the highest PAH concentrations, being almost 2-3 times higher than the concentration samples obtained in the ur…
Oxygen-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OPAHs) in urban soils of Bratislava, Slovakia: patterns, relation to PAHs and vertical distributi…
2011
Abstract We determined concentrations, sources, and vertical distribution of OPAHs and PAHs in soils of Bratislava. The ∑14 OPAHs concentrations in surface soil horizons ranged 88–2692 ng g−1 and those of ∑34 PAHs 842–244,870 ng g−1. The concentrations of the ∑9 carbonyl-OPAHs (r = 0.92, p = 0.0001) and the ∑5 hydroxyl-OPAHs (r = 0.73, p = 0.01) correlated significantly with ∑34 PAHs concentrations indicating the close association of OPAHs with parent-PAHs. OPAHs were quantitatively dominated by 9-fluorenone, 9,10-anthraquinone, 1-indanone and benzo[a]anthracene-7,12-dione. At several sites, individual carbonyl-OPAHs had higher concentrations than parent PAHs. The concentration ratios of se…
Depth profiling of Pu, 241Am and 137Cs in soils from southern Belarus measured by ICP-MS and alpha- and gamma-spectrometry
2003
The depth distribution of plutonium, americium, and Cs-137 originating front the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was investigated in several soil profiles in the vicinity from Belarus. The vertical migration of transuranic elements in soils typical of the 30 km relocation area around Chernobyl NPP was studied using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), alpha spectrometry, and gamma spectrometry. Transuranic concentrations in upper soil layers ranged from 6 x 10(-12) g g(-1) to 6 x 10(-10) g g(-1) for plutonium and from 1.8 x 10(-13) g g(-1) to 1.6 x 10(-11) g g(-1) for americium. These concentrations correspond to specific activities of Pu239+240 of…
Method optimization to measure polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) concentrations in soils of Bratislava, Slovakia.
2010
We modified an analytical method to determine polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in urban soils of Bratislava (Slovakia). Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) introduced as a clean-up step for soil extracts substantially reduced matrix enhancements when PBDEs were measured with gas chromatography-negative chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (GC-NCI-MS). The resulting method proved to be accurate, precise, and showed low detection limits. The sum of 15 PBDE concentrations in surface horizons of Bratislava soils ranged from 87 to 627 pg g(-1). PBDE concentrations were mostly higher in surface than deeper horizons probably because of atmospheric deposition and lack of substantial vertical…
Isolation of Gram-positive n-alkane degraders from a hydrocarbon-contaminated Mediterranean shoreline.
2007
Aims: To investigate the petroleum hydrocarbon (HC)-degrading potential of indigenous micro-organisms in a sandy Mediterranean coast, accidentally contaminated with petroleum-derived HCs. Methods and Results: Using culturable methods, a population of Gram-positive n-alkane degraders was detected in the contaminated soil. Five isolates, identified as one Nocardia, two Rhodococcus and two Gordonia strains, were able to degrade medium- and long-chain n-alkanes up to C36 as assessed by growth assays and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Diverging alkane hydroxylase-encoding genes (alkB) were detected by PCR, using degenerated primers, in all the strains; multiple sequences were obt…
Screening of halogenated aromatic compounds in some raw material lots for an aluminium recycling plant
2004
Four samples of scrap raw materials for an aluminium recycling plant were screened for the occurrence of persistent halogenated aromatic compounds. The samples contained waste from handling of electric and electronic plastics, filter dust from electronic crusher, cyclone dust from electronic crusher and light fluff from car shredder. In our screening analyses, brominated flame retardants were observed in all samples. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) were identified in all samples in amounts of 245–67450 ng/g. The major PBDE congeners found were decabromo- and pentabromodiphenyl ethers. 1,1-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane, hexabromobenzene, ethyl-pentabromobenzene, tetrabromobisphenol-…
Multi-elemental EDXRF mapping of polluted soil from former horticultural land.
2004
The distribution of major and trace elements was systematically investigated by use of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) on a former horticultural soil. The purpose of the study was to combine mapping of soil element concentration levels with multivariate statistics for characterisation of soil metal pollution in relation to previous and present land use. A 1-ha study site was chosen from a former horticulture where a previous preliminary survey indicated increased concentration levels of toxic elements. The soil was sampled from the top 20 cm of the soil surface in a 10×10-m grid-like pattern covering the 1-ha study area. In addition, three soil profiles were studie…
Diuron mobility through vineyard soils contaminated with copper
2005
International audience; The herbicide diuron is frequently applied to vineyard soils in Burgundy, along with repeated treatments with Bordeaux mixture (a blend of copper sulfate and calcium hydroxide) that result in elevated copper concentrations. Cu could in principle affect the fate and transport of diuron or its metabolites in the soil either directly by complexation or indirectly by altering the populations or activity of microbes involved in their degradation. To assess the effect of high Cu concentrations on diuron transport, an experiment was designed with ten undisturbed columns of calcareous and acidic soils contaminated with 17–509 mg kg−1 total Cu (field-applied). Grass was plant…