Evaluation of migration ability of polychlorinated biphenyls in the «soil-plant» and «soil-earthworms»

Abstract

In the article there is given a hygienic assessment ofpolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contamination of soils of the city of Serpukhov of the Moscow region. For the first time there was investigated the PCB’s ability to migrate in the system "soil-earthworms", and were calculated bioaccumulation factors at the different level of soil contamination. There was performed a comparative evaluation of the accumulation of given contaminants by higher terrestrial plants and representatives of soil paedobionts (Lumbricidae worms), and revealed clear differences in these processes. There was shown the possibility of the use of earthworms as a highly sensitive bio-indicators in monitoring for soil contamination by persistent organic pollutants, even at low concentrations.