Lindane and hexachlorobenzene sequestration and detoxification in contaminated sediment amended with carbon-rich sorbents

Marko Grgić; Snežana Maletić; Jelena Beljin; Marijana Kragulj Isakovski; Srđan Rončević; Aleksandra Tubić; Jasmina Agbaba

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.01.017

Lindane and hexachlorobenzene sequestration and detoxification in contaminated sediment amended with carbon-rich sorbents

Chemosphere. 2019 Apr:220:1033-1040. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.01.017. Epub 2019 Jan 6.

Authors

Marko Grgić¹, Snežana Maletić², Jelena Beljin¹, Marijana Kragulj Isakovski¹, Srđan Rončević¹, Aleksandra Tubić¹, Jasmina Agbaba¹

Affiliations

¹ University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
² University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia. Electronic address: snezana.maletic@dh.uns.ac.rs.

PMID: 33395789
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.01.017

Abstract

Sediment represents a sink for toxic and persistent chemicals such as hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and lindane (γ-HCH). This paper investigates the possibility of reducing the risks associated with the presence of these pollutants in sediments by amending the sediment with carbon-rich materials (activated carbon (AC) and humus (HC)) to sequester the contaminants and render them biologically unavailable. The effects of the dose and contact time between the sediment and the carbon-rich amendments on the effectiveness of the detoxification are estimated. Four doses of carbon-rich amendments (0.5-10%) and four equilibration contact times (14-180 days) were investigated. Results have shown that the bioavailable fraction of γ-HCH and HCB decreased significantly in comparison to the unamended sediment. Regarding the AC amendments, almost 100% for both compounds; and for HC amendments around 95% for γ-HCH, and 75% for HCB. Aging caused further reductions in the bioavailable fraction, compared to the untreated sediment. Phytotoxicity tests showed that Zea mays accumulated significantly higher amount of γ-HCH and HCB from unamended sediment, comparing to Cucurbita pepo and Lactuca sativa. Toxicity of HC and AC amended sediment assessed by Vibrio fischeri luminescence inhibition test and by measuring Zea mays germination and biomass yield was significantly reduced in the amended sediment samples. γ-HCH and HCB accumulation in the Zea mays biomass in the unamended sediment were a significantly higher than in the all HC and AC amended sediment. Both sorbents show potential to be used as remediation agents for organically contaminated sediment, but AC exhibited the better performance.

Keywords: Bioavailability; Carbon-rich sorbents; Sediment remediation; Sequestration; Toxicity.