Bioavailability of Organic Xenobiotics in the Environment: Practical Consequences for the Environment (NATO Science Partnership Subseries: 2 Book 64)

In the continuing fight against organic environmental xenobiotics, the initial success attributed to bioremediation has paled, in part due to the low availability of xenobiotics entrapped within a soil or sediment matrix. This has generated a very significant wave of interest in the bioavailability issue. However, much experimental evidence is puzzling or contradictory, mechanistic theories are embryonic, and implications for the practice of bioremediation or concerning the natural fate of xenobiotics are still tentative. The debate in Europe and the USA is vigorous. Eastern Europe, following the liberalisation of the economy and political life, is evolving in a similar direction. In many cases, however, limited access to literature sources, severe language barriers, and the lack of a strong pluridisciplinary tradition are hampering the adoption of state of the art techniques. Originally intended to allow scientists in East European countries to become acquainted with the key aspects of the bioavailability debate that is unfolding in the scientific literature in the West, and with its implications for bioremediation efforts, the present book presents a very complete coverage of the theoretical and practical aspects of the (limited) bioavailability of organic xenobiotics in the environment. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Persistent Organic Contaminants in the Environment: PAHs as a Case Study....Pages 3-34 Evaluation of Contamination Level of Dnieper River Basin by Organic and Inorganic Toxicants....Pages 35-56 Underground Pollution at a Former Military Installation in Valciunai (Lithuania)....Pages 57-72 Application of a Biodegradation-Redox Model for Predicting Bioremediation Performance....Pages 73-77 Bioremediation of Environments Contaminated with Organic Xenobiotics: Putting Microbial Metabolism to Work....Pages 79-92 Factors Controlling the Biodegradation of Chemicals in Soils....Pages 93-117 Front Matter....Pages 119-119 The Use of Laboratory Model Systems to Elucidate the Mechanisms of Bioavailability of Hydrophobic Organic Compounds....Pages 121-134 Pollutant Aging Studies in Soils....Pages 135-139 Factors Affecting the Evaluation of Long-Term PCB Biodegradation in Soils by White Rot Fungi....Pages 141-146 Quantifying the Intrinsic Bioremediation Potential and the Hazard Index of Organic Xenobiotics in Aquifers Based on Their Bioavailability Rates....Pages 147-151 The Use of Whole-Cell Living Biosensors to Determine the Bioavailability of Pollutants to Microorganisms....Pages 153-158 Abiotic Transformations of Organic Xenobiotics in Soils: A Compounding Factor in the Assessment of Bioavailability....Pages 159-205 Evaluation of Soil Adsorption-Desorption Capacity for the Assessment of Pesticide Bioavailability....Pages 207-225 Bioavailability of Organic Xenobiotics in the Environment....Pages 227-248 Front Matter....Pages 249-249 Physico-Chemical Characterization, Reactivity and Biodegradability of Soil Natural Organic Matter....Pages 251-296 Organic Pollutants Associated with Macromolecular Soil Organic Matter and the Formation of Bound Residues....Pages 297-326 Phase Distributions of Hydrophobic Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment....Pages 327-348 Bioavailability of Xenobiotic Organic Compounds to Remediate Soil Containing Clay Fractions....Pages 349-376 Effect of PAHs and Heavy Metals on Activity of Soil Microflora....Pages 377-380 Transport of Organic Xenobiotics in the Environment....Pages 381-405 Front Matter....Pages 407-407 Limited Bioavailability of Organic Contaminants in the Environment: Policy Implications....Pages 409-428 The Role of Plants in the Remediation of Contaminated Soils....Pages 429-449 Reduction of the Bioavailability of PAHS in Heavily Contaminated Soils and Sediments Treated Via a Physico-Chemical Process....Pages 451-461 Surfactant-Enhanced Bioremediation....Pages 463-496 Back Matter....Pages 497-503 Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, held in Prague, Czech Republic from 18-29 August 1997