Mobilization potential of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in contaminated soils and waste materials. Part II: Mobilization potential of PAHs, PCBs, and phenols by natural waters

To evaluate the hazard potential of organic pollutants in a soil, the mobilization potential of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and phenol derivatives in different waters was ascertained by elution experiments and compared to common elution procedures. Furthermore, dissolved organic matter from different sources was examined with regard to its influence on solubility. The results of the elutions pointed out that depending on the composition of the water sample, the leaching behaviour of the PAHs and PCBs is very different and is determined not only by the concentration of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) but particularly by its quality. The separation of DOG-associated and "free" dissolved pollutants with the solid-phase extraction on C18-reversed phases revealed the responsibility of the sorption of the pollutants to the DOC for their solubility and mobilization. Moreover, an increase of association of pollutants to the DOC was observed with growing hydrophobicity corresponding to their octanol/water partition coefficient K-OW. The comparison of the elutions showed that the exclusively used S4-elution (German standard DIN 38414 part 4) is not appropriate to evaluate the mobilization of hydrophobic organic pollutants realistically The eluted PAHs (PCBs) of the S4-elution were exceeded in landfill leachate by a factor of 7 (7), in the pond water by a factor of 9 (15), and in the compost saturation extract even by a factor of 35 (56). In contrast, a realistic "worst-case" leaching could be simulated with a tensidic SDS-solution corresponding to an elution process evaluating the mobilization of organic pollutants. The DOC of real waters and surfactants has little influence on the mobilization of the comparatively polar phenols. Concerning a "worst-case" evaluation of mobilization, the S4-elution under alkaline conditions is doubtlessly useful for water-soluble phenols.