Application of Plant and Earthworm Bioassays for Ecotoxicological Assessment of Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soil Recovery
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RESEARCH ARTICLE-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Application of Plant and Earthworm Bioassays for Ecotoxicological Assessment of Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soil Recovery Sulaiman A. Alrumman1 Received: 17 May 2020 / Accepted: 18 August 2020 © King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2020
Abstract Bioremediation offers an attractive and environmentally friendly solution for clearing soil hydrocarbon contamination. The efficiency and completion of remediation must be assessed using environmental risk assessment criteria. As a result, toxicological indicators have become essential for evaluating the recovery of contaminated soils to support traditional chemical analyses. In this study, the relationship between hydrocarbons (kerosene and diesel) and toxicological indicators was evaluated in three amended soil types (Fresh Boyndie, Insch and Brechin) collected from different areas in Aberdeenshire (UK). Toxicological response assays of higher organisms were performed with two species of earthworms (Eisenia fetida and Lumbricus terrestris) and two plant species (wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and white mustard (Brassica alba L.)). The plant assays included the evaluation of seed germination, root elongation, the germination index (GI) and plant shoot height. All assays were performed sequentially in kerosene and diesel-amended soils under both incubated and non-incubated treatments. The results showed that soil type played a fundamental role in the response observed in the assays, and some assays therefore showed sensitivity across all three soils. Seed germination was an insensitive indicator in both mustard and wheat plants. Root elongation and the germination index (GI) in mustard were more sensitive than those in wheat assays in all three soils. Additionally, wheat shoot height was more sensitive than mustard shoot height in distinguishing between the soil treatments. The two earthworm species used in the study showed similar responses to each other, and both species were highly sensitive to hydrocarbons. However, the assays were unable to differentiate between the incubated hydrocarbon-amended treatments and the equivalent controls. This study confirmed that toxicity assays should be used in addition to hydrocarbon analysis in such studies when soil recovery is assessed. Keywords Toxicological indicators · Soil contamination · Hydrocarbon · Remediation · Plant assay · Soil fauna
1 Introduction Numerous environmental hazards, including soil contamination, are associated with oil production due to leakage from underground storage tanks, pipelines, and refineries and accidents during transportation [1, 2]. Chemical analyses have conventionally been used to quantify hydrocarbon contaminants and soil remediation success [3, 4]. However, a limitation of this approach is that it does not consider ecological risk assessment because bioavailability differs with soil properties and hydrocarbon types [5]. Additionally, there is agreement that the determination of the total
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Sulaiman A. Alrumman [email protected] Department of B
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