Comparing chemical biodegradation assessed in water-sediment suspensions

Many chemicals are released into surface water and biodegradation is one important mechanismto remove the contaminants. Their actual concentrations in water depend on their persistence.The OECD 309 test is the most recognized method to assess the persistence of chemicals in theaquatic environment. However, the quantity of sediment used in the OECD 309 suspensiontests is not clearly defined. To investigate the influence of sediment concentrations and thebacterial cell count on the biodegradation, we compared the biodegradation rate constants of amixture of organic chemicals in suspension tests with 5 different water-sediment ratios. Thesediment concentrations were 125, 50, 20, 8 and 3 g L-1. The 5 test systems were spiked with129 chemicals including pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, food additives, and cosmetics at aconcentration of 1 μg mL-1 each. The chemical degradation was monitored by analyzing thewater subsamples collected at different time points during the 14-day incubation period. It wasthe first time that the effects of sediment concentrations on biodegradation were systematicallystudied for a broad range of chemicals. The bacterial cell count was measured to test whether itcorrelated with sediment concentration and biodegradation rate constant. In the present study,k could be quantified for at least 2 sediment concentrations for 10 chemicals. The resultsshowed that the biodegradation rate constants of the chemicals, k, were positively correlatedwith sediment concentration for 10 chemicals; 6 of these correlations were significant. The totalbacterial cell count showed a positive correlation with sediment concentration, but it was notsignificant. Also, k was positively correlated with total cell count, but these correlations werenot significant for any of 10 chemicals. It is concluded that sediment plays an important role inchemical biodegradation. Sediment-associated total cell count can be one factor contributing tothis effect. The variable results of chemical biodegradation rate constants caused by differentsediment concentrations in the present suspension tests suggest the need for a standardizedsediment concentration in OECD 309 tests.