Soils sediment origin

Complex environmental samples originate from diverse matrices (the predominant material of which the sample to be analyzed is composed). These matrices, usually either water or soil/sediment, can contain as many as 50 to 100 organic components at widely varying concentrations. The EPA approach to the analysis of these samples involves the analysis of specific (or target) compounds and the use of authentic standards for quality control. The current number of standards in the EPA repository is about 1500, and their analysis is covered by various approved methods. 

PCDD/PCDFs are today found in almost all compartments of the global ecosystem in at least trace amounts. They are ubiquitous in soil, sediments and air. Excluding occupational or accidental exposures, most human background exposure to dioxins and PCBs occurs through the diet, with food of animal origin being the major source, as they are persistent in the environment and accumulate in animal fat. 

Suominen KP, Liukkonen M, Salkinoja-Salonen M (2001) Origin of Organic Halogen in Boreal Lakes. J Soils Sediments 1 2... 

Both gaseous and particulate arsenic are potential inhalation hazards and may also contaminate surface soils, sediments, organisms, and waters near their points of origin ((Leoni and Sartori, 1997 Chein et al., 2006 Hedberg, Gidhagen and Johansson, 2005 Shih and Lin, 2003 Martley, Gulson and Pfeifer, 2004 Klumpp et al., 2003) Chapter 4). In particular, the upper 20 cm of soils within 15 km of a copper smelter and industrial complex at Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia, contain up to 26 mg kg-1 of arsenic. The soils normally have maximum arsenic concentrations of 5.9 mg kg-1 (Martley, Gulson and Pfeifer, 2004). 

Petroleum facilities may accidentally release significant quantities of arsenic into soils, sediments, and waters. Soils surrounding a crude oil storage facility in Los Angeles, California, USA, normally contain <0.5-8.0mg kg-1. However, the soils were contaminated with 30-2300mg kg-1 of arsenic. Most of the arsenic probably originated from corrosion inhibitors that were used in production wells and possibly also from arsenic-bearing biocides that were applied to tanks (Wellman, Reid and Ulery, 1999). 

PAHs in soil may partition into soil organic matter (SOM) or adsorb on soil minerals. The sorptive properties of SOM fractions for organic contaminants in soil play an important role on the transportation of PAHs in soil. Xiao et al. (2004) has reported that soil/sediment organic matter can be fractionated into four fractions with a combined wet chemical procedure and that kerogen and black carbon (BC) are major SOM components in soil/sediment samples collected from the industrialized suburban areas of Guangzhou, China. Phenanthrene and naphthalene were used as the sorbates to study PAH s sorption isotherms on four original and four Soxhlet-extracted soil/sediment samples, 15 isolated SOM fractions, and a char as the sorbents. The sorption isotherms of phenanthrene and naphthalene on all the sorbents were variously nonlinear. The particulate kerogen and black carbon (KB) fractions... 

The dominant form of soil loss in the U.S.A. is caused by water runoff. Some 3.6 Pg of sediment is delivered to waterways annually in the 48 contiguous states, and 50% of the sediment originates from agricultural lands... 

Flow analysis is associated with wet chemistry thus, solid samples of diverse origin, e.g., alloys, soils, sediments, sludges and foodstuffs, are normally subjected to in-line treatment in order to form a liquid analyte zone. The two most common examples are in-line sample electrolytic dissolution, where the analyte zone is formed as a consequence of applying a direct electric current to the solid sample, and sequential extractions of soils and sediments. 

Phthalate esters were analyzed in several kinds of environmental solid matrices such as soils, sediment of different origins (mainly marine sediments), and sewage sludge. Some applications of phthalate analysis of solid matrices are summarized in Table... 

Environmental Samples. Since environmental samples such as airborne particles and sediments originate mainly from constituents of the crust (soils and rocks) and generally contain a high percentage of iron, they can be characterized by TFe Mossbauer spectroscopy. A fairly comprehensive review article has been pubhshed recently on iron oxides and hydroxides in soils (22). 

Fig.4 Geographic origin of soils, sediments and other sources in our sample collection. The 5,000 and 700 samples collected from Italy and Thailand are omitted from this figure.

There are four main environmental sources of Hg (PNUMA 2005) (1) natural, (2) anthropogenic releases from mobilizing Hg impurities that exist in raw materials (e.g., fossil fuels and other ores), (3) anthropogenic releases from production processes, and (4) remobilization of Hg from soils, sediments, and water from past anthropogenic releases. Whatever the original source of Hg entry into the environment, the final receptors of such emissions are the atmosphere, aquatic ecosystems, soils, and biota. The biogeochemical cycle of Hg is complex in that several environmental compartments and processes are involved in the cycle. Estimates of Hg emissions to the atmosphere show that natural sources of Hg (median value... 

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