title: Incorporating availability/bioavailability in risk assessment and decision making of polluted sites, using Germany as an example.
abstract: Nearly all publications dealing with availability or bioavailability of soil pollutants start with the following statement: the determination of total pollutant content will lead to an over-estimation of risk. However, an assessment of contaminated sites should be based on the determination of mobile fractions of pollutants, and the fractions with potential for mobilisation that threaten groundwater and surface water, and the actual and potential fractions available for uptake by plants, soil microflora and soil organisms. After reviewing the literature for method proposals concerning the determination of available/bioavailable fractions of contaminants with respect to leaching, plants, microorganisms (biodegradation) and soil organisms, we propose a testing and assessment scheme for contaminated sites. The proposal includes (i) already accepted and used methods, (ii) methods which are under standardisation, and (iii) methods for which development has just started in order to promote urgently needed research.
authors.affiliation: Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Auf dem Aberg 1, 57392 Schmallenberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kördel
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bernhardt
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Derz
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hund-Rinke
authors.forename: Joop
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harmsen
authors.forename: Willie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Peijnenburg
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Comans
authors.forename: Konstantin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Terytze
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001682:Biological Availability; D003657:Decision Making; D005858:Germany; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
chemical_list: D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Availability; Bioavailability; Contaminated sites; Extraction procedures; Site assessment