Modelling and monitoring organochlorine and heavy metal accumulation in soils, earthworms, and shrews in Rhine-delta floodplains

Abstract

In the Rhine-delta, accumulation of microcontaminants in floodplain foodwebs has received little attention in comparison with aquatic communities. To investigate organochlorine and metal concentrations in a terrestrial foodchain, samples of soil, earthworms (Lumbricus rubellus), and shrew (Crocidura russula, Sorex araneus) livers and kidneys were taken from two moderately to heavily polluted floodplains. Chlorobiphenyl residues in earthworm fat were 0.10 to 3.5 times the concentrations in soil organic matter, whereas ratios for other organochlorines varied between 0.87 and 8.8. These ratios are one order of magnitude lower than expected from laboratory experiments with earthworms, and laboratory and field studies on aquatic invertebrates. Bioconcentration ratios for heavy metals are in accordance with literature values for other locations, confirming the high potential for cadmium accumulation in Lumbricidae. Concentrations of organochlorines in shrew liver lipids were 1.0 to 13 times the residues in earthworm fat. These values are higher than lipid-corrected biomagnification ratios for laboratory rodents, but equal to those measured for benthivorous birds in the Rhine-delta. On a dry weight basis, kidney-earthworm ratios for cadmium were about one order of magnitude lower than previously reported values for insectivores. Soil concentrations of many compounds in both floodplains did not meet Dutch quality standards. Yet, hexachlorobenzene, chlorobiphenyl 153 (PCB153), gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane, sigma DDT, and dieldrin residues in earthworms and shrews did not exceed diet levels expected to be safe for endothermic species. An exception was noted for cadmium in worms and shrew kidneys. Heavy metal pollution in soil was close to levels that are critical to earthworms in laboratory studies. Cadmium concentrations in shrew kidneys were below levels suggested to be safe for Sorex araneus, but above those that were critical to the rat.

Toxicity and bioaccumulation of biosolids‐borne triclosan in terrestrial organisms

“…The model parameters were selected based on the physic-chemical properties of TCS and soil type where the organisms were grown. The BASL4 assumes that the properties of invertebrates and mammals are representative of earthworms and shrews, respectively [37]. The BASL4-predicted average BAF value for the IFS soil (5.0 AE 0.0) was reasonably close to our laboratory measured value of 6.5 AE 0.84 (Table 2).…”

Infectious Disease and Contaminants in Urban Wildlife: Unseen and Often Overlooked Threats

“…Metals may be taken up into the food web via a soil-vegetation-invertebrateinsectivore pathway (Hendriks et al 1995;Reinecke et al 2000), so insectivores such as shrews ( Soricidae) and hedgehogs are at particular risk of exposure (Ma et al 1991;Shore and Douben 1994;Nickelson and West 1996). Earthworms accumulate heavy metals such as cadmium and lead through ingestion of soil (Hendriks et al 1995;Reinecke et al 2000), leading to secondary exposure in insectivores. Pankakoski et al (1993) found that moles ( Talpidae) in the metropolitan area of Helsinki had higher concentrations of heavy metals, specifically cadmium, lead, and mercury, and lower body weights, than moles in rural areas.…”

White phosphorus pits focused feasibility study final July 2007.

“…The 28-day BAFs for cadmium were ≤0.1 for earthworms exposed to soil samples from the WPP AOC with concentrations that ranged from 0.4 to 3.6 mg/kg (dry weight). Several investigators have found BAFs that range from a low of 0.6 to a high of 91.1 in field-collected earthworms taken from soils that contain cadmium at concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 11 mg/kg dry weight soil (Beyer and Cromartie 1987;Gish and Christensen 1973;Helmke et al 1979;Hendriks et al 1995;Ireland 1979;and Ramos et al 1999). A cadmium bioaccumulation regression model by Neuhauser et al (1995) estimated a cadmium BAF in the earthworm of 3.5 at a cadmium concentration of 0.1 mg/kg dry weight soil, while a regression model by Sample et al (1999) predicts a BAF of 4.5 for soil containing cadmium at 0.1 mg/kg dry weight.…”