Earthworm toxicity during chemical oxidation of diesel-contaminated sand

Abstract

An ecotoxicity test with Eisenia fetida was performed to monitor the removal of diesel and toxicity variation during the ozonation process. The three-dimensional (3-D) cell test was introduced for the monitoring of the ozonation process, and the removal rate based on total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) mass was about 95% near the ozone inlet ports. This high removal rate might be caused by the low soil organic matter (SOM) content and low water content of sand. The use of a fiber-optic transflection dip probe (FOTDP) demonstrated that more than half of the injected ozone was consumed by reactions with diesel or natural ozone-consuming materials. The earthworm toxicity test using Eisenia fetida demonstrated that diesel concentrations in soil exceeding 10,000 mg/kg caused a dose-dependent weight loss in earthworms and increased mortality. Toxic effects were reduced greatly or eliminated after ozonation, and the degradation products of the ozonation were not toxic to the earthworms at the concentrations tested. One specific result was that the sublethal test on the earthworm might be more sensitive for the evaluation of the quality of contaminated soil, for some samples, which did not result in mortality and produced an adverse effect on weight.