Chlorinated organic pollutants in soil and groundwater at chlorophenol-contaminated sawmill sites

Sammanfattning: Mixtures of chlorinated organic pollutants can be found in the soils at chlorophenol-contaminated sawmill, including (inter alia) polychlorinated phenols (CPs), phenoxyphenols (PCPPs), diphenyl ethers (PCDEs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxins (PCDDs). These hydrophobic compounds have low water solubility and hence low mobility as truly dissolved compounds. However, they may migrate through the soil at significant rates via co-transport with dissolved organic matter (DOM) and colloids of fine, waterborne particulate matter. In the work underlying this thesis the distribution of chlorinated hydrophobic pollutants between these two mobile fractions in soil samples from five sawmill sites was studiedSoils at five sites at which CPs were formerly used were characterized, and found to have complex profiles of chlorinated hydrophobic pollutants. CPs, PCPPs, PCDEs and PCDD/Fs were present at up to ppm-levels. Furthermore, the relative proportions of the pollutants differed from their relative proportions in the preservatives used at the sites, indicating that they have been transported from, and/or degraded in, the soil at different rates. These organic pollutants have low water solubility and strong affinity for soil organic matter (SOM). The importance of SOM for the fate of CPs, PCPPs, PCDEs, PCDFs and PCDDs in soil was investigated by examining the distribution of compounds between the mobile DOM and the immobile particulate organic matter (POM). The partitioning of CPs between DOM and POM was found to be approximately equal. However, the relative strength of association with POM of groups of chlorinated organic pollutants was positively correlated with their hydrophobicity, and thus increased in the order CP < PCPP < PCDE < PCDF < PCDD.Despite the weak association of PCDD/Fs with DOM our investigations found that considerable concentrations of these pollutants were bound to mobile fractions (DOM and colloids, >0.2 µm) in both a groundwater analysis and a leaching test. CPs and PCPP were present at up to ppm- and ppb-levels, respectively, and PCDEs and PCDD/Fs at up to ppt-levels. The importance of transport in association with the mobile fraction (DOM and colloids) increased with increasing hydrophobicity e.g. PCDDs were almost entirely associated with fine particulate matter, while CPs were largely found in the water phase and only minor proportions were associated with colloids.