Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences (DEEP), Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
Svensk Ekologikonsult, Skiftesvägen 17, 163 43, Stockholm, Sweden.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Apr;28(13):16181-16197. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-11607-0. Epub 2020 Dec 2.
The sediments in the Grenland fjords in southern Norway are heavily contaminated by large emissions of dioxins and mercury from historic industrial activities. As a possible in situ remediation option, thin-layer sediment surface capping with powdered activated carbon (AC) mixed with clay was applied at two large test sites (10,000 and 40,000 m) at 30-m and 95-m depths, respectively, in 2009. This paper describes the long-term biological effects of the AC treatment on marine benthic communities up to 4 years after treatment. Our results show that the capping with AC strongly reduced the benthic species diversity, abundance, and biomass by up to 90%. Vital functions in the benthic ecosystem such as particle reworking and bioirrigation of the sediment were also reduced, analyzed by using novel bioturbation and bioirrigation indices (BP, BIP, and IP). Much of the initial effects observed after 1 and 14 months were still present after 49 months, indicating that the effects are long-lasting. These long-lasting negative ecological effects should be carefully considered before decisions are made on sediment remediation with powdered AC, especially in large areas, since important ecosystem functions can be impaired.
挪威南部格陵兰峡湾的沉积物受到历史工业活动中二恶英和汞大量排放的严重污染。作为一种可能的原位修复选择，在 2009 年，在水深分别为 30 米和 95 米的两个大型试验场（面积分别为 10000 和 40000 平方米）中，用粉末状活性炭（AC）与粘土混合进行薄层沉积物表面覆盖。本文描述了 AC 处理对海洋底栖生物群落的长期生物影响，该影响可追溯到处理后 4 年。我们的结果表明，AC 覆盖强烈降低了底栖物种的多样性、丰度和生物量，最大降幅达 90%。通过使用新的生物搅动和生物灌溉指数（BP、BIP 和 IP），分析表明底栖生态系统中的颗粒再搅动和沉积物生物灌溉等重要功能也减少了。在 1 个月和 14 个月后观察到的大部分初始影响在 49 个月后仍然存在，这表明影响是持久的。在决定使用粉末状 AC 进行沉积物修复之前，应该仔细考虑这些持久的负面生态影响，特别是在大面积情况下，因为重要的生态系统功能可能会受到损害。
