title: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons bioavailability in industrial and agricultural soils: Linking SPME and Tenax extraction with bioassays.
abstract: The aims of this study were to evaluate the bioavailability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in industrial and agricultural soils using chemical methods and a bioassay, and to study the relationships between the methods. This was conducted by comparing the quantities of PAHs extracted from two manufactured gas plant (MGP) soils and an agricultural soil with low level contamination by solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) and Tenax-TA extraction with the quantities taken up by the earthworm (Eisenia fetida). In addition, a biodegradation experiment was conducted on one MGP soil (MGP-A) to clarify the relationship between PAH removal by biodegradation and the variation in PAH concentrations in soil pore water. Results demonstrated that the earthworm bioassay could not be used to examine PAH bioavailability in the tested MGP soils; which was the case even in the diluted MGP-A soils after biodegradation. However, the bioassay was successfully applied to the agricultural soil. These results suggest that earthworms can only be used for bioassays in soils with low toxicity. In general, rapidly desorbing concentrations extracted by Tenax-TA could predict PAH concentrations accumulated in earthworms (R2=0.66), while SPME underestimated earthworm concentrations by a factor of 2.5. Both SPME and Tenax extraction can provide a useful tool to predict PAH bioavailability for earthworms, but Tenax-TA extraction was proven to be a more sensitive and precise method than SPME for the prediction of earthworm exposure in the agricultural soil.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China.
authors.forename: Meixia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, PR China. Electronic address: zgong@iae.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Zongqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, PR China. Electronic address: lixiaojun@iae.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia; Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Remediation (EnSuRE), RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia.
authors.forename: Graeme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Allinson
authors.affiliation: Deakin University, Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Geelong campus at Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rookes
authors.affiliation: Deakin University, Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Geelong campus at Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cahill
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D001682:Biological Availability; D005740:Gases; D007221:Industry; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000633:toxicity; D011108:Polymers / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D011108:Polymers; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C010514:tenax
keywords: Bioaccumulation; Biodegradation; Earthworm; Rapidly desorbing fraction; Solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME); Tenax extraction