Detection of iv-nitrosodimethylamine in soils amended with sludges

Abstract

Intensive cultivation of crop fields using agricultural chemicals and fertilizers has led to changes in ecological systems, resulting in a high possibility of environmental pollution by contamination, or occasional reactions not only in the soil but also in the water and the atmosphere. Some substances are known to be very toxic to human beings at low concentrations. For example, nitrosamines are believed to be carcinogenic and mutagenic. Precursors of nitrosamines are widespread in soils. Nitrite is generated from ammonium or nitrate, especially through heavy application of fertilizers and sludges (16), or produced from N02 absorbed by soils (15) sometimes accumulating to high concentrations. Secondary amines are present in algae (11), higher plants (12), and urine and feces (13). Formation of nitrosamines in soils amended with nitrite and amines at high concentrations has been reported and it involved microbial reactions (1-3, 10). However, all trials have failed to detect and isolate nitrosamines from field soils. This may be attributed to the low sensitivity of the gas-chromatographic method (6, 10). Very recently, using the recently developed method of thermal energy analysis (5), West and Day (14) detected nitrosamines up to ppb levels in soils treated with certain herbicides. Nitrite accumulation in soils amended with sludges has been reported previously (16). The present communication describes the isolation and detection of jV-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in soils amended with various sludges. NDMA was determined by thermal energy analysis (TEA) which has a much higher sensitivity and selectivity than the gas-chromatographic method. Soils and sludges. Some characteristics of the 7 soils and 8 sludges used are shown in Table 1. Soil D was obtained from a crop field near the National Institute for Environmental Studies, and employed in experiments without air-drying. All other. © 1981 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.