Bioaccumulation of Pharmaceuticals and Other Anthropogenic Waste Indicators in Earthworms from Agricultural Soil Amended With Biosolid or Swine Manure

Abstract

Analysis of earthworms offers potential for assessing the transfer of organic anthropogenic waste indicators (AWIs) derived from land-applied biosolid or manure to biota. Earthworms and soil samples were collected from three Midwest agricultural fields to measure the presence and potential for transfer of 77 AWIs from land-applied biosolids and livestock manure to earthworms. The sites consisted of a soybean field with no amendments of human or livestock waste (Site 1), a soybean field amended with biosolids from a municipal wastewater treatment plant (Site 2), and a cornfield amended with swine manure (Site 3). The biosolid applied to Site 2 contained a diverse composition of 28 AWIs, reflecting the presence of human-use compounds. The swine manure contained 12 AWIs, and was dominated by biogenic sterols. Soil and earthworm samples were collected in the spring (about 30 days after soil amendment) and fall (140−155 days after soil amendment) at all field sites. Soils from Site 1 contained 21 AWIs and soil from Sites 2 and 3 contained 19 AWIs. The AWI profiles at Sites 2 and 3 generally reflected the relative composition of AWIs present in waste material applied. There were 20 AWIs detected in earthworms from Site 1 (three compounds exceeding concentrations of 1000 µg/kg), 25 AWIs in earthworms from Site 2 (seven compounds exceeding concentrations of 1000 µg/kg), and 21 AWIs in earthworms from Site 3 (five compounds exceeding concentrations of 1000 µg/kg). A number of compounds that were present in the earthworm tissue were at concentrations less than reporting levels in the corresponding soil samples. The AWIs detected in earthworm tissue from the three field sites included pharmaceuticals, synthetic fragrances, detergent metabolites, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), biogenic sterols, disinfectants, and pesticides, reflecting a wide range of physicochemical properties. For those contaminants detected in earthworm tissue and soil, bioaccumulation factors (BAF) ranged from 0.05 (galaxolide) to 27 (triclosan). This study documents that when AWIs are present in source materials that are land applied, such as biosolids and swine manure, AWIs can be transferred to earthworms.

Determination of biocides in different environmental matrices by use of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

“…Six compounds (clotrimazole, miconazole, climbazole, methylparaben, triclosan, and triclocarben) were found at levels of several ngg −1 in the sludge-amended soil samples. The concentrations of triclosan detected in this study were lower than those in a previous report of concentrations up to 160 ngg −1 [44]. Icaridin, a relatively new type of insect repellent, was not found in all the samples, probably because it has a limited use in China.…”

Occurrence and dissipation of three azole biocides climbazole, clotrimazole and miconazole in biosolid-amended soils

“…The persistence of these three biocides may lead to accumulation in soils and organisms in the environment. Uptake of these biocides by plants and bioaccumulation in earthworms from soils applied with biosolids is possible as shown for some pharmaceutical and personal care products (Kinney et al, 2008;Wu et al, 2010). A proper risk assessment for terrestrial organisms is not possible at this stage because of the lack of relevant toxicological data.…”

“…In China, the application of biosolids on agricultural land is still not allowed due to concerns with various contaminants in the biosolid (Daughton and Ternes, 1999;Gottschall et al, 2012;Kinney et al, 2008;Langdon et al, 2012;McClellan and Halden, 2010;Walters et al, 2010). Chinese Ministry of Agriculture initiated field trials of biosolids in 2006 to address the concerns associated with biosolid application on agricultural land.…”

Toxicity and bioaccumulation of ethofumesate enantiomers in earthworm Eisenia fetida

“…Earthworms process large amounts of soil through their feeding and burrowing activities (Lavelle et al, 1997;Shan et al, 2010). Consequently, earthworms can accumulate many organic and inorganic soil pollutants, and they are therefore ideal testing organisms for the bioaccumulation of pollutants in soil (Jager et al, 2003;Kinney et al, 2008). Many studies have reported the bioaccumulation of various contaminants in earthworms, including heavy metals and organic pollutants (Kizilkaya, 2004;Jager et al, 2005;Shang et al, 2013).…”