Soil-air partitioning of polychlorinated biphenyls and total dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethanes

Abstract

Soil-air partitioning is an important diffusive process that affects the environmental fate of organic compounds and human health. In this review, factors affecting the soil-air partitioning of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and total dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethanes (p,p'- and o,p'- isomers of DDT, DDD, and DDE) are discussed. Hydrophobicity is an important factor that influences soil-air partition coefficients (KSA), and its effect can be explained through enthalpy of phase change for soil-air partitioning transfer (ΔHSA). For more hydrophobic compounds, a sharp increase in the KSA of PCBs and organochlorines can be seen in the early aging period. During the aging period, the temperature has a significant effect on the more hydrophobic organic compounds. The content and properties of soil or- ganic matter influence the KSA of the target compounds. Generally, KSA decreases with increasing rela- tive humidity in soils. The linear trend between KSA and temperature (T) changes at 0 °C. Freezing the air or soil in experiments would change the research results. On the basis of factors influencing soil-air partitioning, a multipleparameter (T, organic carbon fraction (fOC), and octanol-air partition coefficient (KOA)) model is put forward to predict the KSA values for PCBs and total DDTs.