Dredging water reservoirs is necessary to maintain accumulation capacity and to prevent floodings. As a first step, the quality of the bed sediments in water reservoirs must be determined before dredging operations. In this study, sediment samples from 34 stations of three selected water reservoirs (Zemplinska Sirava, Velke Kozmalovce, and Ruzin) were collected to investigate concentrations, distributions, and hazards of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and to predict their possible sources. Total PCB concentrations were in the range of 20.4 to 2,325 ng/g. The maximum concentrations of PCBs were found in sediments from Zemplinska Sirava, which is in the vicinity of a former manufacturer of PCBs. The composition of PCBs was characterized by tri- and hexa-CB congeners, indicating the influence of contamination from the use of specific Delor mixtures, formerly produced and massively used on the territory of Slovakia. The data showed that the highest total PAH concentrations were associated with the sediments from the Velke Kozmalovce, ranging from 7,910 to 29,538 ng/g. On the other hand, the lowest total PAH concentrations (84-631 ng/g of dry weight) were found in the sediments of Zemplinska Sirava, an important recreational area in eastern Slovakia. The distribution of individual PAHs was similar among the three water reservoirs, and this, together with principal component analysis and diagnostic PAH ratios, suggests mainly pyrolytic contamination of the sediments. However, petrogenic inputs appear to be important in the Zemplinska Sirava sediments.

MCPA sorption and desorption in five surface soils (denoted as A1-5), three bottom sediments (S1-3), two river sediments (L1-2) and one subsurface soil (SS) at two initial concentrations in aqueous solution -C 0 = 0.5 and 10 mg/l were studied. No significant effect of the initial concentration on MCPA equilibrium distribution between soil/sediment and aqueous solution was observed. The difference between distribution coefficient K D at C 0 = 0.5 mg/l and K D at C 0 = 10 mg/l was found only in the case of one bottom sediment (S2). A simple regression analysis between K D at C 0 = 0.5 and 10 mg/l and soil/sediment properties indicated that the most important property which determined the variation in MCPA sorption is organic carbon (r = 0.886*** and r = 0.926***, respectively). Similarly, desorption of MCPA was inversely proportional to organic carbon content of the soils and sediments used (r = -0.862* and r = -0.842**). These observations showed that MCPA sorption and desorption in soils and sediments were primarily controlled by organic components of the geosorbents used. Overall, the percentage of MCPA sorption in soils and sediments was low (P sorp ≈ 3-53%; K D = 0.077-2.827 l/kg) and the percentage of MCPA desorbed was relatively high (P des ≈ 11-70%), especially in the soils and sediments with lower organic carbon content. The experimental results and calculated values of groundwater ubiquity score GUS and relative leaching potential index RLPI imply that MCPA is very mobile in all the surface soils and has a potential to contaminate groundwater.

Burning of crop residues in the fields is a routine post-harvest practice and results in accumulation of ashes in soils. Recent studies have shown that the ashes may significantly contribute to the herbicide sorption in soils. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential role of wheat ash in immobilization of anionic herbicide MCPA in soils. The results showed that wheat ash is highly effective sorbent for herbicide MCPA. Amendment of Fluvi-Gleyic Phaeozem and Eutric Regosol with 1% wheat ash caused a 8-fold and 16-fold increase in MCPA sorption, respectively. Desorption of MCPA was also influenced by wheat ash in soils. The addition of wheat ash to both soils increased the resistant fraction to desorption up to 80%. Generally, the field burning of crop residues appears to increase the sorption of pesticides in agricultural soils and decrease their leaching.

Thirty-four sediment samples were collected in three water reservoirs from the Slovak Republic to investigate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) distribution and predict their possible sources. The results showed that the highest total PAH concentrations were associated with sediments from the Velke Kozmalovce, ranging from 7,910 to 29,538 ng/g of dry weight. On the other hand, the lowest total PAH concentrations (84-631 ng/g of dry weight) were found in sediments of the Zemplinska Sirava, an important recreational area in eastern Slovakia. The distribution of individual PAHs was consistent within the three water reservoirs, and this together with diagnostic PAH ratios suggests mainly pyrolytic contamination of the sediments. However, petrogenic inputs appear to be important in the Zemplinska Sirava sediments.

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