Abstract
Purpose
Iron oxides are ubiquitous natural components in sediments and have been documented to play a prominent role in controlling the geochemical and environmental behavior of contaminants. However, the influence of iron oxides on the toxicity of contaminants in sediments has not been well illustrated. This study aims to investigate the impacts of iron oxides on the toxicity of pentachlorophenol (PCP), a historically used agrochemical and persistent organic pollutant, using the freshwater chironomid of Chironomus riparius.
Methods
Two representative iron oxides, goethite and hematite, were added (1%—5%, w/w) to PCP-spiked sediments. The 10-d median lethal concentration (LC50) values of PCP to C. riparius were measured by sediment toxicity tests. Speciation of iron oxides was conducted by analyzing amorphous iron oxides (Feo) and free iron oxides (Fed) in the sediments.
Results
Adding goethite into the sediments generally increased LC50 values, while hematite did not, probably because of the strong adsorption of PCP to goethite by electrostatic interactions. Neither Feo (p = 0.08 > 0.05) nor Fed (p = 0.97 > 0.05) had a significant relationship with LC50, whereas their ratio (Feo/Fed) positively correlated with LC50 (p = 0.03 < 0.05).
Conclusion
Goethite reduces the toxicity of PCP in the sediments, while hematite does not obviously change the toxicity. Elevated Feo/Fed values result in a decrease of the toxicity. This study highlights the important role of iron oxides in affecting the toxicity and the ecological risk of PCP in sediments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
References
Bettinetti R, Kopp-Schneider A, Vignati DAL (2018) The European water-based environmental quality standard for pentachlorophenol is NOT protective of benthic organisms. Sci Total Environ 613:39–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.055
Campana O, Blasco J, Simpson SL (2013) Demonstrating the appropriateness of developing sediment quality guidelines based on sediment geochemical properties. Environ Sci Technol 47:7483–7489. https://doi.org/10.1021/es4009272
Chen MA, Kocar BD (2018) Radium sorption to iron (hydr)oxides, pyrite, and montmorillonite: Implications for mobility. Environ Sci Technol 52:4023–4030. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b05443
Chen YY, Duan T, Li W, Zhang JQ, Dong YX, Zhou YQ, Zhou YF (2022) The effect of dissolved natural organic matter on adsorption of phenolic compounds on suspended sediments. Environ Technol 43:3366–3377. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2021.1921054
Cheng Y, Ekker M, Chan HM (2015) Relative developmental toxicities of pentachloroanisole and pentachlorophenol in a zebrafish model (Danio rerio). Ecotoxicol Environ Safety 112:7–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.10.004
Chien SWC, Chen SH, Li CJ (2018) Effect of soil pH and organic matter on the adsorption and desorption of pentachlorophenol. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:5269–5279. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9822-7
Costello DM, Hammerschmidt CR, Burton GA (2015) Copper sediment toxicity and partitioning during oxidation in a flow-through flume. Environ Sci Technol 49:6926–6933. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b00147
Cui X, Wang H, Lou L, Chen Y, Yu Y, Shi J, Xu L, Khan MI (2009) Sorption and genotoxicity of sediment-associated pentachlorophenol and pyrene influenced by crop residue ash. J Soils Sediments 9:604–612. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-009-0124-7
Danner KM, Hammerschmidt CR, Costello DM, Burton GA (2015) Copper and nickel partitioning with nanoscale goethite under variable aquatic conditions. Environ Toxicol Chem 34:1705–1710. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.2977
de Morals P, Stoichev T, Basto MCP, Ramos V, Vasconcelos VM, Vasconcelos M (2014) Pentachlorophenol toxicity to a mixture of Microcystis aeruginosa and Chlorella vulgaris cultures. Aquat Toxicol 150:159–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2014.03.008
Hochella MF Jr, Mogk DW, Ranville J, Allen IC, Luther GW, Marr LC, McGrail BP, Murayama M, Qafoku NP, Rosso KM, Sahai N, Schroeder PA, Vikesland P, Westerhoff P, Yang Y (2019) Natural, incidental, and engineered nanomaterials and their impacts on the Earth system. Science 363:1414. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau8299
Huang XP, Hou XJ, Song FH, Zhao JC, Zhang LZ (2016) Facet-dependent Cr(VI) adsorption of hematite nanocrystals. Environ Sci Technol 50:1964–1972. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b05111
Jin R, Lu T, Zhang H, Wang M, Wang M, Qi W, Qi Z, Li D (2021) Role of solution chemistry in the attachment of graphene oxide nanoparticles onto iron oxide minerals with different characteristics. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:5126–5136. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10886-x
Kong FY, Lu SG (2022) Effects of microbial organic fertilizer (MOF) application on cadmium uptake of rice in acidic paddy soil: Regulation of the iron oxides driven by the soil microorganisms. Environ Pollut 307:119447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119447
Kostka JE, Luther GW (1994) Partitioning and speciation of solid phase iron in saltmarsh sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 58:1701–1710. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(94)90531-2
Kotalik CJ, Cadmus P, Clements WH (2019) Indirect effects of iron oxide on stream benthic communities: Capturing ecological complexity with controlled mesocosm experiments. Environ Sci Technol 53:11532–11540. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b04236
Lewandowski KK, Cieslikiewicz W, Kobusinska ME, Niemirycz E (2018) Sorption of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the marine bottom sediments-batch sorption experiment at varying pressure. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:10799–10807. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-1076-x
Li B, Zhang T, Zhang Q, Zhu QH, Huang DY, Zhu HH, Xu C, Su SM, Zeng XB (2022) Influence of straw-derived humic acid-like substance on the availability of Cd/As in paddy soil and their accumulation in rice grain. Chemosphere 300:134368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134368
Li B, Zhu QH, Zhang Q, Zhu HH, Huang DY, Su SM, Wang YN, Zeng XB (2021) Cadmium and arsenic availability in soil under submerged incubation: The influence of humic substances on iron speciation. Ecotoxicol Environ Safety 225:112773. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112773
Li XC, Yang ZZ, Zhang C, Wei JJ, Zhang HQ, Li ZH, Ma C, Wang MS, Chen JQ, Hu JW (2019) Effects of different crystalline iron oxides on immobilization and bioavailability of Cd in contaminated sediment. Chem Eng J 373:307–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2019.05.015
Lin SH, Cheng YW, Bobcombe Y, Jones KL, Liu J, Wiesner MR (2011) Deposition of silver nanoparticles in geochemically heterogeneous porous media: Predicting affinity from surface composition analysis. Environ Sci Technol 45:5209–5215. https://doi.org/10.1021/es2002327
Liu J, Zhu RL, Ma LY, Fu HY, Lin XJ, Parker SC, Molinari M (2021) Adsorption of phosphate and cadmium on iron (oxyhydr)oxides: A comparative study on ferrihydrite, goethite, and hematite. Geoderma 383:114799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114799
Lu RK (2000) Analytical methods for soil and agrochemistry. China Agricultural Science and Technology Press, Beijing
Lv JT, Miao YX, Huang ZQ, Han RX, Zhang SZ (2018) Facet-mediated adsorption and molecular fractionation of humic substances on hematite surfaces. Environ Sci Technol 52:11660–11669. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b03940
Maciak J, Lewandowski K, Niemirycz E (2016) Migration of pentachlorophenol in artificial and natural sediments of Puck Bay. Oceanol Hydrobiol St 45:368–376. https://doi.org/10.1515/ohs-2016-0033
Maenpaa K, Sorsa K, Lyytikainen M, Leppanen MT, Kukkonen J (2008) Bioaccumulation, sublethal toxicity, and biotransformation of sediment-associated pentachlorophenol in Lumbriculus variegatus (Oligochaeta). Ecotoxicol Environ Safety 69:121–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2006.12.019
Mendonca RM, Daley JM, Hudson ML, Schlekat CE, Burton GA, Costello DM (2017) Metal oxides in surface sediment control nickel bioavailability to benthic macroinvertebrates. Environ Sci Technol 51:13407–13416. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b03718
Namayandeh A, Borkiewicz OJ, Bompoti NM, Chrysochoou M, Michel FM (2022) Oxyanion surface complexes control the kinetics and pathway of ferrihydrite transformation to goethite and hematite. Environ Sci Technol 56:15672–15684. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c04971
Nikkila A, Halme A, Kukkonen JVK (2003) Toxicokinetics, toxicity and lethal body residues of two chlorophenols in the oligochaete worm, Lumbriculus variegatus, in different sediments. Chemosphere 51:35–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0045-6535(02)00791-9
Pouran HM, Banwart SA, Romero-Gonzalez M (2014) Coating a polystyrene well-plate surface with synthetic hematite, goethite and aluminium hydroxide for cell mineral adhesion studies in a controlled environment. Appl Geochem 42:60–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2014.01.005
Ren Y, Lee Y, Cui M, Zhou Y, Liang H, Khim J (2022) Evaluation of self-oxidation and selectivity of iron-based reductant in anaerobic pentachlorophenol contaminated soil. J Haz Mat 424:127322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127322
Shan GQ, Ye MQ, Zhu BZ, Zhu LY (2013) Enhanced cytotoxicity of pentachlorophenol by perfluorooctane sulfonate or perfluorooctanoic acid in HepG2 cells. Chemosphere 93:2101–2107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.07.054
Simpson S, Batley G (2016) Sediment quality assessment: a practical guide (second edition). CSIRO Publishing
So HU, Postma D, Hoang VH, Mai LV, Kim TPT, Hung VP, Jakobsen R (2018) Arsenite adsorption controlled by the iron oxide content of Holocene Red River aquifer sediment. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 239:61–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2018.07.026
Suganya D, Ramakritinan CM, Rajan MR (2018) Adverse effects of genotoxicity, bioaccumulation and ionoregulatory modulation of two differently synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles on zebrafish (Danio rerio). J Inorg Organomet Polym 28:2603–2611. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-018-0935-3
US EPA (2000) Methods for measuring the toxicity and bioaccumulation of sediment-associated contaminants with freshwater invertebrates (second edition). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 600/R-99/064
Wang Y, Zhang Y, Zhu L (2021) Effects of pH on sediment toxicities of pentachlorophenol and derivation of sediment quality criteria. Res Environ Sci 34:491–500. https://doi.org/10.13198/j.issn.1001-6929.2020.05.21
Wang YZ, Zhang SL, Xu W, Cui WY, Zhang J (2020) Occurence of chlorophenol compounds in aquatic environments of China and effect of suspended particles on toxicity of these chemicals to aquatic organisms: a review. Appl Ecol Environ Res 18:7901–7913. https://doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1806_79017913
Wang Z, Wang S, Liu Y, Jin X, Wang Z, Ni Z, Li Y (2012) Effects of iron and aluminum on phosphorus fractions in lake sediments. Res Environ Sci 25:556–562. https://doi.org/10.13198/j.res.2012.05.78.wangzhh.017
Wu C, Long H, Cheng T, Liu L, Qian P, Wang H, Ren SF, Zhou LM, Zheng XM (2021) Quantitative estimations of iron oxide minerals in the Late Pleistocene paleosol of the Yangtze River Delta: Implications for the chemical weathering, sedimentary environment, and burial conditions. CATENA 207:105662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105662
Xing LQ, Liu HL, Giesy JP, Yu HX (2012) pH-dependent aquatic criteria for 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and pentachlorophenol. Sci Total Environ 441:125–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.09.060
Xu Y, He Y, Zhang Q, Xu JM, Crowley D (2015) Coupling between pentachlorophenol dechlorination and soil redox as revealed by stable carbon isotope, microbial community structure, and biogeochemical data. Environ Sci Technol 49:5425–5433. https://doi.org/10.1021/es505040c
Zhang Y, Li H, Yin J, Zhu L (2021) Risk assessment for sediment associated heavy metals using sediment quality guidelines modified by sediment properties. Environ Pollut 275:115844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115844
Zheng L, Liu ZT, Yan ZG, Zhang YH, Yi XL, Zhang J, Zheng X, Zhou JL, Zhu Y (2017) pH-dependent ecological risk assessment of pentachlorophenol in Taihu Lake and Liaohe River. Ecotoxicol Environ Safety 135:216–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2016.09.023
Zheng WW, Yu H, Wang X, Qu WD (2012) Systematic review of pentachlorophenol occurrence in the environment and in humans in China: Not a negligible health risk due to the re-emergence of schistosomiasis. Environ Int 42:105–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2011.04.014
Zhong W, Zhang Y, Han Y, Zhu L (2015) Acute and chronic toxic effects of pentachlorophenol on the benthic organisms in sediments. Asian J Ecotoxicol 10:297–304. https://doi.org/10.7524/aje.1673-5897.20140528001
Zhu M, Hu XF, Tuc C, Zhang HB, Song F, Luo YM, Christie P (2019) Sorption mechanisms of diphenylarsinic acid on ferrihydrite, goethite and hematite using sequential extraction, FTIR measurement and XAFS spectroscopy. Sci Total Environ 669:991–1000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.166
Funding
This work was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (2018YFC1801003, 2019YFC1804203), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 41991313, 21737003, 22111530176), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nankai University), and 111 Program of Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (T2017002).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conceptualization: Lingyan Zhu; Methodology: Yanfeng Zhang; Formal analysis and investigation: Yuanyuan Wang; Writing—original draft preparation: Yuanyuan Wang; Writing—review and editing: Yanfeng Zhang, Huijuan Chen; Funding acquisition: Lingyan Zhu.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible editor: Jan Schwarzbauer
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, Y., Chen, H., Zhang, Y. et al. Impacts of iron oxides on the toxicities of pentachlorophenol in sediments to the freshwater chironomid of Chironomus riparius. J Soils Sediments 24, 464–472 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03672-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03672-y