PARENT SESSION
MA6 Environmental Partitioning Processes.
9:00 AM to 12:30 PM, Monday, 07 May 2001
Session Chair: Bart Koelmans
Room 6

(047) Fate and partitioning of linear alkylbenzenes in soil.

Morriss, Alistair¹, Patel, Daxaben², Semple, Kirk¹, ^{1 2}

ABSTRACT- Light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs), are commonly found at sites contaminated with coal tar and petroleum fuels, and have been shown to complicate site characteristics in terms of their toxicity and remediation. Studies have been conducted on the toxicity of cable insulating oil (a mixture of C₁₀-C₁₃ linear alkylbenzenes (LAB)) and results indicated that toxicity did not decrease with time. These results go against the theory that as organic compounds reside in the soil their bioavailability and consequently their toxicity decreases. To further investigate the toxicity results a classical ageing experiment using ¹⁴C-labelled LAB, in sterile and non-sterile soil systems, was carried out to determine if the insulating oil did undergo ageing. At set time points the bioavailability of the cable insulating oil was assessed using chemical extractions and a microbial assay. Such classical bioavailability tests have been carried out on a number of organic contaminants, namely polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pesticides. Little or no information exists regarding the fate and bioavailability of LNAPLs in the soil environment. LABs and other LNAPLs are often chemically dissimilar to compounds, such as PAHs, and therefore their fate within the soil environment may well be different and, as a consequence, need to be investigated

Key words: LNAPLs, Cable insulating oil, Linear-alkylbenzenes