Sludge organics bioavailability

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5546209

Eiceman, G E; Bellin, C A; Ryan, J A; O'Connor, G A

Concern over the bioavailability of toxic organics that can occur in municipal sludges threatens routine land application of sludge. Available data, however, show that concentrations of priority organics in normal sludges are low. Sludges applied at agronomic rates yield chemical concentrations in soil-sludge mixtures 50 to 100 fold lower. Plant uptake at these pollutant concentrations (and at much higher concentrations) is minimal. Chemicals are either (1) accumulated at extremely low levels (PCBs), (2) possibly accumulated, but then rapidly metabolized within plants to extremely low levels (DEHP), or (3) likely degraded so rapidly in soil that only minor contamination occurs (PCP and 2,4-DNP).

• Research Organization: Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH (United States). Risk Reduction Engineering Lab.
• OSTI ID: 5546209
• Report Number(s): PB-91-176859/XAB; EPA-600/D-91/032
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Pub. in Proceedings from 1989 International Battelle Symposium on Solid/Liquid Separation: Waste Management and Productivity Enhancement. Prepared in cooperation with New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces. Dept. of Agronomy and Horticulture
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
BIOLOGICAL AVAILABILITY
SEWAGE SLUDGE
GROUND DISPOSAL
SOILS
CONTAMINATION
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
CROPS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
LAND POLLUTION
ROOT ABSORPTION
TOXIC MATERIALS
ABSORPTION
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BIOLOGICAL WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
POLLUTION
SEWAGE
SLUDGES
UPTAKE
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
540320* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology