Effects of different forms of organic carbon on the partitioning and bioavailability of nonylphenol

Abstract

Oxygenated nonpolar organic contaminants (NOCs) are underrepresented in studies of the partitioning and bioavailability of NOCs, including nonylphenol. In this investigation, we evaluated the toxicity, partitioning, and bioavailability of nonylphenol as affected by different forms of organic carbon. Along with organic carbon content, the role of organic carbon polarity was assessed. Toxicity of nonylphenol to a mysid and amphipod was comparable to results reported in the literature for marine organisms with median lethal concentrations (LC50s) of 82.3 and 236 microg/L, respectively. The presence of the different forms of organic carbon in every instance altered, often statistically significantly, the toxicity and bioavailability of the nonylphenol and increased the LC50 by approximately a factor of two. Partition coefficients (KPs) for nonylphenol ranged from 21.3 for cellulose to 9,770 for humic acid; log organic carbon-normalized partition coefficients (KOCs) ranged from 1.71 for cellulose to 4.71 for sediment. An exercise to predict nonylphenol effects using our toxicity data and normalized partition coefficients indicated organic carbon content was most protective and also highlighted the need for further research to better understand nonylphenol bioavailability. These data suggested that with regard to partitioning and bioavailability, the oxygenated NOC nonylphenol behaves like conventional NOCs. The data also suggest that, with refinements, polarity may have some advantages in predicting nonylphenol bioavailability.

Role of structure, accessibility and microporosity on sorption of phenanthrene and nonylphenol by sediments and their fractions

“…The log K OC (mL/g) values at C e ¼ 0.005 S w range from 5.00 to 5.28 for the sorption of NP on the bulk sediments. Prior study indicated that the organic carbon-normalized partition coefficient (log K OC ) of NP measured on North Jamestown sediment was 4.71 (Burgess et al, 2005). The log K OC (mL/g) values of NP measured on Ebro River sediments ranged from 4.13 to 4.69 (Navarro et al, 2009), lower than the values in our study.…”

Soil pollution by nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates and their effects to plants and invertebrates

“…In particular, toxicity was generally lower the higher the organic matter content in soil, given their high affinity for hydrophobic materials (Burgess et al 2005). This is why, generally, the lowest toxicity values were obtained in OECD soil, which presented the highest organic matter content (6.9%), and the highest toxicity was in the PRA soil, with the lowest organic content (1.9%).…”

“…Nevertheless, Scott-Fordsmand and Krogh (2004) did not find that sludge addition significantly altered NP bioavailability. The adsorption degree depends on the quality of the organic matter, and it has been shown that more hydrophobic materials (lignin, humic acids) permit higher adsorption, resulting in a lower toxicity than more hydrophilic materials (cellulose, chitin) (Burgess et al 2005). Vogel et al (2003) showed that NP leaching is extremely limited, since most NP was found within the first 30 cm of the surface.…”

Factors affecting the removal of organic micropollutants from wastewater in conventional treatment plants (CTP) and membrane bioreactors (MBR)

“…As biodegradation is the primary removal pathway for organics in the activated sludge treatment, the degree of bioavailability of a micropollutant is important Burgess et al 2005). In wastewater treatment plants, the accessibility of micropollutants to the population of the activated sludge can be defined in terms of external and internal bioavailability.…”