Article

Bioaccumulation of Pharmaceuticals and Other Anthropogenic Waste Indicators in Earthworms from Agricultural Soil Amended With Biosolid or Swine Manure

Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University at Pueblo, 2200 Bonforte Blvd, Pueblo, Colorado 81001, National Water Quality Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey, P.O. Box 25046, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225-0046, U.S Geological Survey, 400 S. Clinton St. Suite 269, Iowa City, Iowa 52240-4105, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, Washington 99004, and U.S. Geological Survey, 2045 Route 112, Building 4, Coram, New York 11727
Environ. Sci. Technol., 2008, 42 (6), pp 1863–1870
DOI: 10.1021/es702304c
Publication Date (Web): February 20, 2008
Copyright © 2008 American Chemical Society
OpenURL UNIV OF NORTH TEXAS
* Corresponding author phone: 719-549-2600 ; fax: 719-549-2911; e-mail: chad.kinney@colostate-pueblo.edu., †

Colorado State University at Pueblo.

, ‡

National Water Quality Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado.

, §

U.S Geological Survey, Iowa City, Iowa.

, △

Eastern Washington University.

, ⊥

U.S. Geological Survey, Coram, New York. Now associated with Southern Nevada Water Authority, Rocky Mountain Water Treatment Facility, P.O. Box 99954, Las Vegas, NV 89193-9954.

Synopsis

Accumulation of a variety of organic anthropogenic waste indicator compounds by earthworms is investigated in biosolid and swine manure amended soils.

Abstract

Analysis of earthworms offers potential for assessing the transfer of organic anthropogenic waste indicators (AWIs) derived from land-applied biosolid or manure to biota. Earthworms and soil samples were collected from three Midwest agricultural fields to measure the presence and potential for transfer of 77 AWIs from land-applied biosolids and livestock manure to earthworms. The sites consisted of a soybean field with no amendments of human or livestock waste (Site 1), a soybean field amended with biosolids from a municipal wastewater treatment plant (Site 2), and a cornfield amended with swine manure (Site 3). The biosolid applied to Site 2 contained a diverse composition of 28 AWIs, reflecting the presence of human-use compounds. The swine manure contained 12 AWIs, and was dominated by biogenic sterols. Soil and earthworm samples were collected in the spring (about 30 days after soil amendment) and fall (140−155 days after soil amendment) at all field sites. Soils from Site 1 contained 21 AWIs and soil from Sites 2 and 3 contained 19 AWIs. The AWI profiles at Sites 2 and 3 generally reflected the relative composition of AWIs present in waste material applied. There were 20 AWIs detected in earthworms from Site 1 (three compounds exceeding concentrations of 1000 µg/kg), 25 AWIs in earthworms from Site 2 (seven compounds exceeding concentrations of 1000 µg/kg), and 21 AWIs in earthworms from Site 3 (five compounds exceeding concentrations of 1000 µg/kg). A number of compounds that were present in the earthworm tissue were at concentrations less than reporting levels in the corresponding soil samples. The AWIs detected in earthworm tissue from the three field sites included pharmaceuticals, synthetic fragrances, detergent metabolites, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), biogenic sterols, disinfectants, and pesticides, reflecting a wide range of physicochemical properties. For those contaminants detected in earthworm tissue and soil, bioaccumulation factors (BAF) ranged from 0.05 (galaxolide) to 27 (triclosan). This study documents that when AWIs are present in source materials that are land applied, such as biosolids and swine manure, AWIs can be transferred to earthworms.

Supporting Information


Details pertaining to the methods utilized and Tables S1 and S2. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.

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Article Views: 3,391 Times
Received 14 September 2007
Date accepted 7 January 2008
Published online 20 February 2008
Published in print 1 March 2008
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