Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are important classes of compounds of serious environmental concern. These compounds were measured in waters, sediments and soils from several high altitude sites in the Sagarmatha National Park (Nepal) and included in the Himalayan ridge. In water samples, low-level substituted PCBs and PBDEs, along with more vola...

The role of humic acid (HA) in the biodegradation of toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been the subject of controversy, particularly in unsaturated environments. By utilizing an infrared spectromicroscope and a very bright, nondestructive synchrotron photon source, we monitored in situ and, over time, the influence of HA on the progression of degradation of pyrene (a model PAH) ...

This study investigated the biodegradation of high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in liquid media and soil by bacteria (Stenotrophomonas maltophilia VUN 10,010 and bacterial consortium VUN 10,009) and a fungus (Penicillium janthinellum VUO 10, 201) that were isolated from separate creosote- and manufactured-gas plant-contaminated soils. The bacteria could use pyrene as...

10 11 Reduced bioavailability to soil microorganisms is probably the most limiting factor in the 12 bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAH-polluted soils. We used sunflowers 13 planted in pots containing soil to determine the influence of the rhizosphere on the ability of soil 14 microbiota to reduce PAH levels. The concentration of total PAHs decreased by 93% in 90 days 15 when...

Risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminated soil and source apportionment require accurate analysis of the concentration of each PAH congener in the soil. However, determination of low level PAH congeners in soil is difficult because of similarity in the chemical properties of 16 PAHs and severe matrix interferences due to complex composition of soils. It is therefor...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in lake sediments and nearby soils of two European high mountain regions, Pyrenees and Tatra, have been studied. Similar mixtures of parent PAH were observed in all cases, indicating predominance of airborne transported combustion products. Nevertheless, the composition of these atmospherically long-range transported PAH was better preserved in the superfi...

A method to assess micronucleus (MN) induction in Vicia faba roots by direct contact exposure to a solid matrix was developed. The procedure comprised a 5-d germination period, as in the well-known method using aqueous extracts. However, the seeds were here sown directly into the test soil whereas a culture period is necessary before exposing seedlings to a liquid medium. One soil under forest ...

Urban sludge produced on wastewater treatment plants are often contaminated by organic pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Their removal under methanogenic conditions was already reported, but the factors influencing this removal remain unclear. Here, we determined the influence of microbial communities on PAH removal under controlled physico-chemical conditions. Twelve m...

Finding an appropriate method with the highest rate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) removal from naturally polluted soils is important research issue. A pot factorial experiment (using contaminated soil samples Isfahan Refinery, Iran) was conducted in a 90-day period to compare following bioremediation strategies: (1) natural attenuation (NA): inherent ability for bioremediation; (2) b...

Members of the Sphingomonas genus are often isolated from petroleum-contaminated soils due to their unique abilities to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are important for in situ bioremediation. In this study, a combined phenotypic and genotypic approach using streptomycin-containing medium and Sphingomonas-specific PCR was developed to isolate and identify culturable Sphi...