title: Influence of activated carbon amendment on the accumulation and elimination of PCBs in the earthworm Eisenia fetida.
abstract: In this study we investigated the use of activated carbon (AC) as a soil amendment for reducing bioavailability of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to the earthworm Eisenia fetida. Artificial soil was contaminated with PCBs and used in bioaccumulation experiments fresh or after aging for 19 months. PCB bioaccumulation in earthworms was reduced by 68% when AC was placed as a layer without mixing and by 94% when AC was manually mixed into the soil. Aging of the same AC mixed soil for 19 months resulted in an overall reduction of 99% in PCB biouptake. AC-treated aged soil also showed two orders of magnitude lower equilibrium aqueous concentrations of PCBs compared to untreated aged soils. The findings from this study indicate that application of engineered sorbents like AC to PCB impacted soils may greatly reduce PCB uptake at the base of the terrestrial food chain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MA 21250, USA.
authors.forename: Piuly
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Upal
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ghosh
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000818:Animals; D002606:Charcoal / Q000737:chemistry*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D020387:Food Chain; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002606:Charcoal; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls