土壤环境质量指导值与标准研究 Ⅱ.污染土壤的健康风险评估

快速城市化进程与工业发展，使得土壤污染日益严重。污染物进入土壤后，经水、气、生物等介质传输，通过饮水、呼吸、饮食、皮肤吸收等途径引起人体暴露，带来健康风险。污染土壤健康风险评估是制定土壤环境质量标准的基础，是一项新的环境管理技术与手段。我国污染土壤的健康风险评估还非常欠缺，为了推动其发展，本文讨论了其研究进展、方法、存在问题与发展趋势。当前，还缺乏准确定量的风险表征方法，评估过程中还具有较大不确定性。污染土壤的健康风险评估正在向多介质、多途径以及多种污染物暴露的方向发展，模型模拟的方法将会得到更多的应用。为了建立准确定量风险评估方法，在未来研究中需要加强对风险评估相关机理研究。这包括污染物的迁移传输规律、污染物的剂量一效应关系和人群生活方式等。     

用稀悬液Wien效应测量法来研究重金属离子与水稻土的相互作用

Interactions of three heavy metal ions, Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Pb²⁺, and, for comparison, Na⁺ with electrodialytic clay fractions (less than 2 μm in diameter) of four paddy soils as well as a yellow-brown soil as a control soil were evaluated based on measurements of the Wien effect in dilute suspensions with a clay concentration of 10 g kg^?1 in four nitrate solutions of 2 × 10^?4/z mol L^?1, where z is the cation valence, and a nitric acid solution of 3 × 10^?5 mol L^?1. Field strengths ranging from 15 to 230 kV cm^?1 were applied for measuring the electrical conductivities (ECs) of the suspensions. The mean free binding energies between the various cations and all of the soils determined from exchange equilibrium increased in the order: Na⁺ < Cd²⁺ < Cu²⁺ < Pb²⁺. In general, the ECs of the suspensions in the sodium nitrate solution were smaller than those of the suspensions in the heavy metal solutions because of the lower electrophoretic mobility of sodium compared to the divalent cations. In terms of relative electrical conductivity-field strength relationships, relative electrical conductivity (REC) of suspensions containing various cations at field strengths larger than about 50 kV cm^?1 were in the descending order: Na⁺ > Cu²⁺ > Cd²⁺ > Pb²⁺ for all tested soils. A characteristic parameter of the REC-field strength curves, ΔREC₂₀₀, REC at a field strength of 200 kV cm^?1 minus that at the local minimum of the concave segment of the REC-field strength curves, characterized the strength of adsorption of the cations stripped off by the applied strong electrical field, and for all soils the values of ΔREC₂₀₀ were generally in the order: Na⁺ < Cu²⁺ ≤ Cd²⁺ ≤ Pb²⁺.     

The causes of piping in a set of abandoned agricultural terraces in southeast Spain

This study aims to identify some of the factors contributing to the piping process in abandoned terraces in seven sites located in the Murcia Region (southeast Spain). The local landscape has the appearance of badland geomorphology, possessing deep valleys which until the 1970s were terraced and cultivated. The terraces have now been abandoned to the piping process. The research focuses on the relationship between the size and position of pipes and the physical and geochemistry properties of the local highly dispersive marl lithology; and the extent to which the reworking of the materials for terrace cultivation has exacerbated piping erosion.Morphologically, the terracing in the stream beds has resulted in a series of gentle benches separated by steeper risers with variable ‘drop’, (riser height). A series of flat infiltration surfaces result, and because the resculpting produces a reduced bulk density infill with enhanced throughflow, infiltrating water is forced along steep hydraulic gradients to a low outfall at the base of the riser.Paralleling studies of land levelling and terrace abandonment in similar materials elsewhere, piping in the study area is shown to be closely related to the physical and chemical characteristics of the materials its sodicity and dispersive character. Considerable differences in structure, texture, mineralogical composition and material's surface crust and subsoil geochemical properties emerged from ‘site signature’ plots, and these results suggest that agricultural processes affect the dispersive character of the crust materials, presumably because agricultural activity increases the buffering effect of organic acids on the dispersed clay. This is supported by the observation that on the one site that was levelled but not used for agriculture, a stable organically-distinct crust like the abandoned agricultural sites has not formed. The changes to the material's aggregate stability and bulk density properties when terracing occurs is examined, but insufficient evidence is available from the data collected to unpick the causes of aggregate stability changes in the study plots. The way in which differences between crust and subsoil enhance infiltration is discussed, and the role of the terrace ‘drop’ in influencing hydraulic gradients and pipe development is illustrated. A possible index to describe the relationship between evacuated material volumes and the controlling parameters discussed above is tested.It is concluded that terracing which is intended as a conservation practice has, in dispersive materials, actually enhanced piping, leading to the abandonment of farming.     

Differences in common bean rhizobial populations associated with soil tillage management in southern Brazil

Progressive adoption of no-tillage (NT) agriculture in the tropics is finally reversing physical, chemical, and biological erosion of soil and in Brazil, an estimated 19 Mha are now devoted to NT. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a main component of Brazilian agriculture, and enhancement of yields has been achieved under NT as a result of mitigation of environmental stresses, resulting in higher N₂ fixation. However, the effects of NT on rhizobial diversity are poorly understood. This study evaluated rhizobial diversity in soils planted to common bean under NT or conventional tillage (CT) systems that were compared with natural grassland used for grazing, in the State of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. Genetic diversity was assessed by the amplification of the DNA by PCR with specific primers (BOX-PCR) and by RFLP-PCR analyses of the 16S rDNA region. A high level of diversity was observed among strains from all three systems, such that the similarity in the clustering analysis of BOX-PCR products ranged from 36% under natural grassland to only 23% for CT strains. High polymorphism was confirmed in the RFLP-PCR analysis; forty-seven different profiles were obtained, none sharing high similarity with the profiles of reference species of common bean rhizobia. These results indicate that other tropical rhizobial species remain to be described. Genetic diversity was higher among the NT than the CT rhizobial strains, especially when the RFLP-PCR profiles were considered. Genetic diversity in the natural grassland was lower than in the cropped systems, possibly due to absence of the host plant and stubble burning in winter. Average yields in the area under NT (e.g. common bean, approximately 1500 kg ha⁻¹) have been about 30% higher than under CT, therefore high rhizobial diversity may be a parameter indicative of superior soil quality.     

Comparing Deterministic and Probabilistic Risk Assessments. A case study at a closed steel mill in southern Sweden (7 pp)

Background, Aims and Scope   Contaminated land is a high priority environmental problem in most of Europe and North-America. Sweden is no exception and generic guideline values have been developed for the initial assessment, but site-specific assessments are also needed. The generic guideline values are not applicable when the exposure conditions are different from the typical Swedish conditions or when the site contains a particularly sensitive ecosystem. The Swedish guideline values have, like in many other countries, been set by using deterministic point estimates for all variables and constants in the used multimedia model. The same approach is common also for site-specific assessments, and a limitation is that it fails to quantify variability and uncertainty. Probabilistic risk assessment provided a method to deal with this problem. Variability and uncertainty in the input parameters (variables or constants) are described by probability distributions, and likewise the output (risk or exposure) is presented as a probability distribution. A substantial number of probabilistic risk assessments for contaminated land at sites in North America, Europe and Asia have been published. However, an extensive review of the literature did not identify any study where probabilistic risk assessment was applied to a site contaminated by an iron or steel industry. Here we will describe such a case, where we have compared a deterministic point estimate with a probabilistic risk assessment for six elements and benzo[a]pyrene. Methods   The site had different metallurgical plants in operation for more than 100 years. Most parts of the steel mill were closed by the mid 1980s, and today the site is used by small-sized enterprises. The soil is contaminated with metals from the previous industrial operations. The present owner plans to develop the site and has therefore initiated extensive investigations of soil contamination. Sixty-two soil samples collected between 1997 and 2000 provided a good coverage of the whole site, and were analyzed for the content of different elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The exposure assessments were focused on six elements with high concentrations compared to the generic guideline values; arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). In addition, benzo[a]pyrene was included due to the high toxicity and comparatively high concentrations. Variability and uncertainty were characterized in a Monte Carlo simulation of exposures (10 000 iterations), and the exposures were evaluated with two land use scenarios; less sensitive use and sensitive use. Results and Discussion   The deterministic point estimates and the probabilistic estimates of the 95th percentile are in approximately the same ranges in the scenario of less sensitive land use. It is only the exposure for arsenic that is slightly above the toxicological reference value (TRV) in the deterministic assessment. In the probabilistic assessment, the exposure for all elements is below the TRV. The results for sensitive land use are applicable to a scenario where the site is developed for general housing. The deterministic point estimates and the probabilistic estimates of the 95th percentile are also here in approximately the same ranges, but the exposure exceeds the TRV for arsenic, cadmium and lead. Drinking water, vegetables grown on site and soil ingestion are the major exposure pathways for this scenario. In this assessment, the estimated intake distributions are applicable to a randomly selected individual. The probability distributions used here to characterize the different soil parameters are typically representing both variability and uncertainty, and the same is true the majority of the exposure variables. We therefore decided not to attempt to separate variability and uncertainty at this stage, but with additional data from a more in-depth site investigation it might be possible to achieve this. Conclusions and Outlook   To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first report on a probabilistic risk assessment on a former iron and steel works site. The materials handled by this industry were less toxic than for many other metallurgical operations, but contaminants may still severely limit the options for future land use. This case study shows that probabilistic exposure estimates for a set of soil contaminants can be quite similar to deterministic point estimates. The main difference is instead to be found in the additional information obtained with the probabilistic assessment. The sensitivity analyses show pathways and input variables that contribute most to variations in the total intake of each contaminant, e.g. dermal contact and ingestion of soil, vegetables and drinking water. This information can be used both in the planning of future land use and for active measures to reduce current exposure. The probabilistic assessment also provides information on the magnitude of exposure and the margin of safety. This information may facilitate risk communication between decision-makers and stakeholders. The presentation of results from probabilistic risk assessments is only briefly discussed in the literature and here we see a need for research and opportunities for enhancement. The choice of data analytical tools may then be of importance, since more complex multimedia models are rather difficult to decipher when implemented within traditional spreadsheet software. Some of the research needs are identified here and in a previous review article in this journal.     

The mineralogy and potassium supplying power of some loessial and related soils of New Zealand

Sixteen Pallic (Aqualfs, Ustalfs, Aquepts, Ochrepts) and related soils collected from the North and South Islands of New Zealand were studied to determine if variations in nonexchangeable K supply could be explained by mineralogical composition. A strong relationship was found which indicates that mica is weathering to vermiculite. Proportions of vermiculite and kandite are generally higher in the North Island than in the South Island. Dominance of either micas or vermiculite or kandite is determined by the stage of weathering and/or the nature of parent materials. Soils that supplied more nonexchangeable K (K_nex) to ryegrass plants contained more mica in the clay fraction than soils that supplied less K_nex. The results confirmed that use of a soil test that includes a measure of K_nex (i.e. acid-extractable K) may be a vital part of identifying variations in plant available K status of the soils. It is concluded that the K supplying power of the Pallic and related soils is related directly to the amounts of mica present in clay fraction and that good K supplying soils will be transformed to K depleted soils as a result of increased weathering and leaching (pedogenic factors) and K exploitation in intensive farming systems.     

Changes in soil microbial biomass and aggregate stability following burning and soil rehabilitation

A greenhouse experiment was conducted in order to determine the influence of organic amendment, as compared with inorganic fertilization, and vegetation cover (Lolium perennne L.) on microbial biomass and aggregate stability in burnt soils. The study was performed with soil samples from the ash layer of three pine forests differing in their physicochemical and chemical properties and affected by high-intensity wildfires about 3 and 36 months before the sampling. Two different doses of both poultry manure and NPK fertilizer were used. Similar results were observed independent of the soil; however, the fertilization effect was most pronounced in the soil collected 36 months after the wildfire. Significant increases in microbial biomass C were detected following poultry manure addition, particularly at high dose, while no changes or slight increases were found as a consequence of inorganic fertilization. A significant but varied response of microorganisms to plant growing was also observed. Revegetation and fertilization also modified the aggregate stability values, but different effects were detected depending on the fertilizer used (organic or inorganic) and the dose of application. A high positive and significant relationship between soil microbial biomass and aggregate stability was observed. The results clearly indicate that organic amendment combined with the implantation of a vegetation cover can improve the reestablishment of both microbial biomass and soil structure in burnt pine forests.     

Dry farming with soils under natural tephra cover in Lanzarote, Spain

Abstract. The volcanic island of Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain) is one of the most arid parts of the European Union. During the eruptions of 1730–36, a third of the island was covered with lava and pyroclastic material. In areas under basaltic tephra, an agrosystem has been developed that allows a form of dry farming that has become a key component of the local economy. This article illustrates the effectiveness of the layer of natural tephra mulch in conserving soil and water.