Ecological risk assessment for land contaminated by petrochemical industry

PLoS One. 2018 Oct 11;13(10):e0204852. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204852. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Contamination with harmful chemical substances, including organic compounds of the BTEX and PAH groups, constitutes one of the major threats to the functioning of soil habitat. Excessive contents of the above substances can exert adverse effects on soil organisms, reduce biodiversity, and thus deteriorate soil quality. The threat to soil ecosystems within areas particularly exposed to contamination with accumulating chemical compounds was assessed using the Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) with a multi-stage Triad (triage rapid initial assessment) procedure (taking into account the different lines of evidence). The article presents the results of chemical and ecotoxicological study of soils sampled at sites affected by contamination from petrochemical industry. The study results provided foundations for developing the site specific ERA framework for the area examined.

MeSH terms

  • Chromatography, Gas
  • Ecotoxicology
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Petroleum Pollution / analysis*
  • Plant Development / drug effects*
  • Poland
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / analysis
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / toxicity
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Risk Assessment
  • Soil Pollutants / analysis*
  • Soil Pollutants / toxicity*
  • Volatile Organic Compounds / analysis
  • Volatile Organic Compounds / toxicity

Substances

  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
  • Soil Pollutants
  • Volatile Organic Compounds

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.