Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the bioavailability of metals in field soils contaminated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) mixtures. The uptake and elimination kinetics of chromium, copper, and arsenic were assessed in the earthworm Eisenia andrei exposed to soils from a gradient of CCA wood preservative contamination near Hartola, Finland. In soils contaminated with 1480–1590 mg Cr/kg dry soil, 642–791 mg Cu/kg dry soil, and 850–2810 mg Ag/kg dry soil, uptake and elimination kinetics patterns were similar for Cr and Cu. Both metals were rapidly taken up and rapidly excreted by Eisenia andrei with equilibrium reached within 1 day. The metalloid As, however, showed very slow uptake and elimination in the earthworms and body concentrations did not reach equilibrium within 21 days. Bioaccumulation factors (BAF) were low for Cu and Cr (< 0.1), but high for As at 0.54–1.8. The potential risk of CCA exposure for the terrestrial ecosystem therefore is mainly due to As.
Highlights
According to a report from the European Soil Data Centre of the European Commission, the estimated number of potentially contaminated sites in Europe is over 2.5 million
The main objective of this study was determining the bioavailability of chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), and arsenic (As) to the earthworm E. andrei along a gradient of metal pollution, applying a toxicokinetics approach
Test soils were taken from a gradient of Cr, Cu, and As contamination in a Finish forest field soil contaminated several decades with a chromated copper arsenate (CCA) wood preservative
Summary
According to a report from the European Soil Data Centre of the European Commission, the estimated number of potentially contaminated sites in Europe is over 2.5 million. There are around 24,000 contaminated sites, which include 880 sites used for wood salt impregnation and saw mills (Pyy et al 2013). In Finland, the use of metal oxides in wood preservatives began in 1950 with the application of Lahontuho K33 (Viitasaari1991). The CCA compounds are divided into A, B, and C type compounds according to the amount of arsenic, but they differ in solubility (Viitasaari 1991). Until the end of 1982, the CCA wood preservatives used in Finland were of the type B compound. At our study site in Finland, wood logs were preserved with K-33
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