Enrichment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in forest soils near a blast furnace plant

Four different layers of soil were sampled at ten sites at increasing distances from a blast furnace plant. PAH 7 concentrations decreased exponentially from moderately contaminated to background values. For each compound it was possible to distinguish between the source-related part, decreasing with increasing distance from the plant, and the background contribution. The relative contribution of PAHs differed between the source and the background profiles. PAH concentrations were found to be elevated upto a distance of 2 km from the boundary of the plant. The different layers of soil revealed a relative enrichment of PAHs with ageing of organic matter. This effect, which increased with the molecular weight of the compound, was used to estimate the half-life of PAHs in forest soil. Estimated DT 50s ranged from 2 to 4 months for fluorene upto 1.9 to 3.4 years for benzo[b]fluoranthene.

[1]  C. N. Hewitt,et al.  THE DEPOSITION OF SELECTED POLLUTANTS ADJACENT TO A MAJOR RURAL HIGHWAY , 1991 .

[2]  L. H. H. Vliet,et al.  Iron, manganese and zinc inputs in soil and litter near a blast-furnace plant and the effects on respiration of woodlice , 1984 .

[3]  R. Alden,et al.  Release rates of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons from natural sediments and their relationship to solubility and octanol-water partitioning , 1994 .

[4]  I. Kozin,et al.  Peculiarities of contamination of urban soils by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in relation to furnace heating , 1993 .

[5]  C. Gestel,et al.  Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in earthworms and isopods from contaminated forest soils. , 1996 .

[6]  William J. Doucette,et al.  Fate of PAH compounds in two soil types: influence of volatilization, abiotic loss and biological activity. , 1990 .

[7]  M. Blumer,et al.  Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils of a mountain valley: correlation with highway traffic and cancer incidence , 1977 .

[8]  E. Matzner,et al.  Content and storage of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in two forested ecosystems in northern Germany , 1981 .

[9]  Ronald A. Hites,et al.  Importance of vegetation in removing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the atmosphere , 1994, Nature.

[10]  J. Anderson,et al.  Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems , 1979 .

[11]  E. Matzner,et al.  Annual rates of deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in different forest ecosystems , 1984 .

[12]  N. M. Straalen,et al.  The efficiency of Tullgren apparatus with respect to interpreting seasonal changes in age structure of soil arthropod populations , 1982, Pedobiologia.

[13]  M. Overcash,et al.  Fate of polynuclear aromatic compounds (PNAs) in soil-plant systems , 1983 .

[14]  R. Hites,et al.  Vegetation-atmosphere partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. , 1994, Environmental science & technology.

[15]  G. Grimmer,et al.  The use of passive samplers for monitoring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air , 1993 .

[16]  K. Esbensen,et al.  Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil and air: statistical analysis and classification by the SIMCA method , 1987 .

[17]  A. Johnston,et al.  Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in an agricultural soil: long-term changes in profile distribution. , 1989, Environmental pollution.

[18]  W. Thomas,et al.  Accumulation of airborne pollutants (PAH, chlorinated hydrocarbons, heavy metals) in various plant species and humus , 1984 .

[19]  P. Vowles,et al.  Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an urban roadway system. , 1994, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[20]  I. Bossert,et al.  Structure-biodegradability relationships of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil , 1986, Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology.

[21]  W. Ernst,et al.  Perennial herbs as monitor for moderate levels of metal fall-out , 1987 .

[22]  P. Masclet,et al.  Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the polar ice of greenland. Geochemical use of these atmospheric tracers , 1994 .

[23]  R. Perry,et al.  A review of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Sources, fate and behavior , 1991 .

[24]  Kevin C. Jones,et al.  The long-term persistence of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an agricultural soil amended with metal-contaminated sewage sludges , 1991 .

[25]  Diana J. Freeman,et al.  Woodburning as a source of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons , 1990 .

[26]  N. H. Velthorst,et al.  Direct determination of isomeric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental samples by conventional and laser-excited Shpol'skii spectroscopy. , 1995 .

[27]  K. Jones,et al.  Bioremediation of soil contaminated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): a review. , 1993, Environmental pollution.

[28]  S. R. Wild,et al.  The persistence of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sewage sludge amended agricultural soils. , 1991, Environmental pollution.

[29]  Kevin C. Jones,et al.  ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS IN WELSH SOILS: POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS , 1989 .