Investigations on the sorption of a toxaphene model congener, the B7-1450, on marine sediments

Abstract

Sorption is a natural process that takes place in sediments or soils and changes the mobility and availability of hydrophobic organic compounds, such as toxaphene pesticide in the environment. The sorption of the 2- exo,3- endo,5- exo,8,9,10,10-heptachlorobornane (B7-1450), used as a model compound of the toxaphene heptachlorobornane congeners found in sediments, was investigated for the first time through a series of batch sorption experiments. The losses of B7-1450 due to adsorption onto glass walls and to evaporation occurring during analytical treatment steps were corrected. The study showed that these specific losses ranged from 2% to 3.5% for the glass walls adsorption and can be as high as 15% for the evaporation treatment. The sorption coefficients, K d and K oc, of B7-1450 could be overestimated by >30%, particularly for low-concentration samples, if the losses were not corrected. Loss correction equations were established, validated and applied to determine sorption coefficients for the B7-1450 congener. The K oc values for B7-1450 determined over a gradient of concentrations ranged from 3.5 × 10 4 to 6.5 × 10 4 ml g −1, revealing a strong affinity of B7-1450 for marine sediments.