Bioremediation of a Soil Industrially Contaminated by Wood Preservatives—Degradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Monitoring of Coupled Arsenic Translocation

Two commercially available aerobic bioremediation methods (Daramend® and BioSan) were utilized to study the aerobic biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and the effect of the simultaneously present arsenic. The soil was collected at an old wood preservation site, and the initial PAH16-concentration was 46 mg/kg, with mainly high molecular weight congeners. The As concentration was 105 mg/kg with low availability as assessed with sequential extraction. To enhance the availability of PAH, the effect of a nonionic surfactant was evaluated. Degradation of both low and high molecular weight PAH was observed; however, after 30 weeks, the degradation was generally low and no treatment was significantly better than the others. The treatments had, on the other hand, an effect on As remobilization, with increased As concentration in the available fraction after treatment. This may be due to both the microbial activity and the presence of anoxic microsites in the soil. The overall efficiency of the biological treatment was further evaluated using the standardized ecotoxicity test utilizing Vibrio fischeri (Microtox®). The toxicity test demonstrated that the bioremediation led to an increase in toxicity, especially in treatments receiving surfactant. The surfactant implied an increase in contaminant availability but also a decrease in surface tension, which might have contributed to the overall toxicity increase.