Abstract
Contamination with harmful chemical substances, including organic compounds of the BTEX and PAH groups, constitutes one of the major threats to the functioning of soil habitat. Excessive contents of the above substances can exert adverse effects on soil organisms, reduce biodiversity, and thus deteriorate soil quality. The threat to soil ecosystems within areas particularly exposed to contamination with accumulating chemical compounds was assessed using the Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) with a multi-stage Triad (triage rapid initial assessment) procedure (taking into account the different lines of evidence). The article presents the results of chemical and ecotoxicological study of soils sampled at sites affected by contamination from petrochemical industry. The study results provided foundations for developing the site specific ERA framework for the area examined.
Highlights
Contamination of the natural environment due to economic activities leads to an increase in the environmental content of both trace elements and toxic organic compounds [1]
The range of threats to human health and the soil environment in the examined area was determined by means of the ecological risk analyses using a multi-stage Triad procedure, which combines chemical measurements, ecotoxicological tests and observations of selected soil organisms, together with the use of the SADA programme
Compared the Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) for land contaminated by organic compounds contents of chemical compounds in the test soils to the values defined by national standards have shown that the area under study should be considered as uncontaminated, and not posing any threat to human health as well as to the basic ecological functions of soils
Summary
Contamination of the natural environment due to economic activities leads to an increase in the environmental content of both trace elements and toxic organic compounds [1]. This has serious consequences due to the fact that some of these compounds, e.g. chloroorganic pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins or some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are highly persistent in the environment, and accumulate in soils, bottom sediments and organisms [2,3]. C-onsequently, populations living in the neighborhood of petrochemical plants may be exposed to an increased risk of cancer and other adverse health effects [5, 7]. Care has increasingly been taken, over the last years, to reduce negative health effects on people living
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