Rapid mineralization of the endocrine‐disrupting chemical 4‐nonylphenol in soil

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The persistence of the xenoestrogenic compound 4‐nonylphenol in agricultural, noncultivated temperate, and Arctic soils was assessed in laboratory microcosm incubations. At 30°C, [ring‐U‐14C]4‐nonylphenol was rapidly mineralized without a lag in six soils tested. A sandy loam agricultural soil was chosen for more detailed study. The 4‐nonylphenol mineralization did not occur in autoclaved soil. The response of 4‐nonylphenol mineralization to variation in temperature and moisture content was consistent with an aerobic biological mechanism of degradation. Mineralization of [ring‐U‐14C]4‐nonylphenol was rapid in the concentration range of 1 to 250 mg/kg soil. Sludge solids did not inhibit 4‐nonylphenol mineralization, although sewage sludge at high concentrations was inhibitory, apparently because of high biological oxygen demand. Gas chromatographic‐mass spectrometric analyses of extracts prepared from soil incubated with commercial nonylphenol indicated that all detectable isomers were degraded. In summary, these results indicate that microorganisms that can metabolize 4‐nonylphenol are found in a wide variety of soils, including two originating from the Canadian Far North, which presumably have not been exposed anthropogenically to this chemical. We conclude that 4‐nonylphenol should be generally biodegradable in well‐aerated arable soils.