Colloid facilitated transport of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) to the groundwater at Ma Da Area, Vietnam

PCDD/Fs are hydrophobic organic substances and strongly sorbing to soil particles. Once adsorbed to soil particles they are believed to be virtually immobile. However, research in the last decades confirmed that strong sorbing contaminants may reach the groundwater via colloid-facilitated transport. This pathway has not been investigated before in Vietnam. Ma Da area, 100 km north of Ho Chi Minh City, was repeatedly sprayed during the Vietnam War (1962–1971) with herbicides like Agent Orange containing, beside others, the teratogenic contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). 11 surface soil samples and 12 water samples were collected in Ma Da area for analysis of PCDD/Fs in solids. Soil TCDD concentrations ranged from 1–41 ppt with a mean of 8.8 ppt and a mean I-TEQ of 9.7 ppt. Two surface water samples showed colloid bound TCDD (7 and 19 ppt). Groundwater samples showed elevated colloid bound PCDD concentrations (mean 770 ng/kg), mainly octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Groundwater colloids separated by filtration did not show any TCDD. The results support that TCDD/Fs can be relocated from the top soil to the groundwater by colloidal pathway. They did not provide evidence that the dioxins bound to groundwater colloids are leftovers from the Second Indochinese War. However, this study reinforces that the colloidal transport pathway has to be included investigating the relocation of strong sorbing organic contaminants.