Effect of sludge treatment on the bioaccumulation of nonylphenol in grass grown on sludge-amended soil

Abstract

We studied the accumulation of p353-nonylphenol residues in the biomass of grass grown in soil amended with sewage sludge submitted to various conditioning/dewatering treatments. Incubation experiments were conducted growing Poa pratensis in sludge-amended soils and applying one 14C-labelled isomer of nonylphenol in the different systems. More metabolites than parent compounds were recovered in both roots and leaves of the grass. The type of sludge conditioning and dewatering treatment had a slight effect on the bioaccumulation of nonylphenol and its metabolites. When the grass was cultivated in soils amended with dewatered sludge without conditioning pretreatment, an increased accumulation was observed in the roots, while the final biomass of the grass was lower. © Springer-Verlag 2007.