Volatile Metal(loid) Species Associated with Waste Materials: Chemical and Toxicological Aspects

摘要

By using hyphenated analytical techniques, dozens of organometal(loid) species could be determined in landfill and sewage gases as well as polluted sediments and soils in concentrations from the low ng/m~3 (resp. kg) to the mid μg/m~3 (resp. kg) range. Environmental gases are known to contain up to five species of As, one of Bi, one of Cd, three of Hg, two of I, five of Pb, two of Sb, three of Se, four of Sn, and two of Te (altogether 28 compounds of 10 elements) in addition to volatile methylated silicones; waters and sediments in the environment show a similar variety of species (additionally those of Ge). In the light of available toxicological data our empirical analytical results suggest that certain environmental scenarios may be of potential toxicological concern (respective organometal(loid)s given in bracketts): River and harbor sediments (Sn, As, Hg), soil near ore deposits (Hg), gaseous emissions from industrial sludge fermenter (Te, As, Bi, Sb), geothermal water (As, Hg, Sn), sewage gas (As, Bi, Sb, Se, Te), waste gas (As, Sb, Sn), and leachates (As). Generally it can be stated that compared to the omnipresent biogenic background, organometal(loid) emissions from solid waste and contaminated soils and sediments are at least two magnitudes higher, and require toxicological evaluations in respect to the health of people working or living near these sites.