Study of evolution of PCDD/F in sewage sludge-amended soils for land restoration purposes

The evolution of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and polychlorinat ed dibenzofurans (PCDF) in sewage sludge-amended soils used in the restorat ion of degraded lands, like quarries, has been studied. Two experiments wer e performed: one in the lab, under controlled conditions, and another in a quarry. Two different doses of sewage sludge were applied in both experimen ts (with two types of application in the quarry experiment) and the evoluti on of the amended soils were compared with that of the respective control s oils (without addition of sewage sludge). The samples were analyzed with a previously validated method by HRGC-HRMS after the extraction and the neces sary clean-up steps. The results reveal that polluted sewage sludge increas es PCDD/F concentration in soils and that these compounds are persistent in the matrix after long periods of time. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.