ABACUS Evaluation of availability to biota for organic compounds ubiquitous in soils and sediments

Country: EU Projects
Start Date:   30/11/2001         Duration: 42 months         Project Type: RTD
Contract Number: EVK1-CT-2001-00101
Organisation Type:  EC Project
Topics: 
Contaminated land-->Risk assessment-->Receptor: Ecological
Contaminated land-->Soil and groundwater processes-->Ecotoxicology
Sediments
Soil-->Soil Overview
Project objectives:
The overall aim of the project is to provide methods to determine bioavailable concentrations of contaminants in soils and sediments so that they may be compared 
to quality criteria as part of a risk assessment. The major objectives of the project are: To study the sorption and bioavailability of organic contaminants by both experimental methods and by molecular modelling. To develop kinetic models and structure activity relationships which can be used to predict the bioavailability of contaminants in soils and sediments.
To use the results of the above research to develop methods to readily measure the bioavailability of soil and sediment contamination. To develop protocols for the risk assessment of organic contaminants in soils and sediments based on their actual bioavailability.
Project Summary:
Contamination of soils and sediments by organic chemicals is a major threat to the environmental quality of freshwater and groundwater resources. At present, 
assessment of the risks of soil and sediment contamination is based on theassumption of bulk organic carbon-based equilibrium partitioning. However, it
isgenerally accepted in scientific circles that this assumption is inappropriateand can lead to an overestimation of the risks of soil and sedimentcontamination.
This project will investigate the mechanistic basis for theformation of different sorbed fractions of contaminants in soils and sediments and the bioavailability
of these fractions. Methods will be developed to easily determine bioavailable fractions of contaminants in relation to their sorptionkinetics. These results
will be exploited to develop protocols for the risk assessment of sorbed contaminants in soils and sediments.
Achieved Objectives:

            
Product Descriptions:

            
Additional Information:

            
Project Resources:

Fugacity ratio estimations for high-melting rigid aromatic compounds

Sorption of phenanthrene to environmental black carbon in sediment with and without organic matter and native sorbates

Effect of sorbate planarity on environmental black carbon sorption

Key site variables governing the functional characteristics of Dissolved Natural Organic Matter (DNOM) in Nordic forested watersheds

Evaluation of availability to biota for organic compounds ubiquitous in soils and sediments - Summary of the Third Periodic Report (December 1 2003 - November 30 2004)

Essential characteristics of natural dissolved organic matter affecting the sorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants

Biotransformation and bioconcentration of pyrene in Daphnia magna

Measuring the bioavailability of two hydrophobic organic compounds in the presence of dissolved organic matter

Removal of indigenous compounds to determine maximum capacities for adsorption of phenanthrene by sediments

Temperature effects on very slow desorption of native chlorobenzenes from sediment to water

Relations between environmental black carbon sorption and geochemical sorbent characteristics

Description of ABACUS presented at the EU Workshop The Functioning and Management of the Water-Soil-System at River-Basin Scale: Diffuse Pollution and Point Sources in Orléans, France, November 26-28 2003.

Competition for adsorption between added phenanthrene and in situ PAHs in two sediments

Removal of indigenous compounds to determine maximum capacities for adsorption of phenanthrene by sediments

Modeling maximum adsorption capacities of soot and soot-like materials for PAHs and PCBs
Weblink:
http://www.science.uva.nl/research/ibed/Abacus/
Funding Programme(s): 
EC Framework Programme 5
Link to Organisations:
Submitted by: EUGRIS Team Prof Paul Bardos  Who does what?  03/07/2003 17:48:00
Updated by: EUGRIS Team Mr Anthony Bardos  Who does what?  29/09/2006 15:58:00