Abstract
An environmental forensic study was developed in a former industrial area in southern Spain. Previous information about the site revealed arsenic and hydrocarbons affection exceeding soil screening levels. A full characterisation of arsenic affection was thus performed. In this regard, the bioavailable fractions, arsenic speciation and grain-size distribution were determined. Two different polluted types of soils/fillers were identified. The first one is affected by non-bioavailability As(V) concentrations on the finer fraction, and the other one is affected by As(III) and As(V) with higher bioavailability than the other case, affecting all grain-size fractions homogeneously. Notably the textures are very heterogeneous within the site. On the other hand, hydrocarbons affection was also studied. Cuantitative and cualitative organic analyses revealed the presence of organic products with differing degree of degradation (naphthas). An additional microbiological study revealed regular microbial counts for a non-fertilized soil, and an edaphological characterization showed alkaline soils with low levels of nutrients and natural organic matter. The information gathered was used to evaluate remediation feasibility. Soil washing was selected as an interesting possibility for arsenic removal, although grain-size distribution must be studied carefully because of high variability. As regards as organics, bioremediation is a valuable option due to the suitable microbiology and the type of hydrocarbons found, together with the usual low costs of techniques such as landfarming or biopiles.
Highlights
In Europe in the latest decades, the recent closure of industrial and mining facilities has revealed the existence of large volumes of contaminated soils, especially in the context of urban or peri-urban areas
In order to determine the current state of soils, six samples of about 5 kg were taken from the site
Microbial populations were monitored using conventional plate counting with a rich complex medium designed for growing most cultivable organotrophic bacteria
Summary
In Europe in the latest decades, the recent closure of industrial and mining facilities has revealed the existence of large volumes of contaminated soils, especially in the context of urban or peri-urban areas. These sites are known as brownfields [1], and they are abundant wherever heavy industry and mining had a decisive presence in the past, with the particularity that they usually present organic and inorganic contaminants together (concurrent contamination). One of the most efficient technique of those mentioned is soil washing, consisting in the removal of contaminants by concentrating them into a minor volume by means of physical and/or chemical procedures [2]
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