Abstract: | Background Worldwide, large amounts of sediments have to be dredged annually from waterways and harbours. These sediments are sometimes
polluted with a variety of toxic compounds. In some countries, including Belgium, the load with the biocide tributyltin (TBT)
from ship coatings prohibits the dumping of harbour sludge into the sea. Land-based dumping is a commonly used alternative.
Objective This research investigated the feasibility to use land-deposited harbour sludge for plant production. In a field trial, the
growth of 38 more or less salt-tolerant plant species on low and high TBT-contaminated sediments was studied. The elimination
of TBT from sludge with and without vegetation was compared. The uptake of TBT and its degradation products di- and monobutyltin
(DBT and MBT) into harvest products under field conditions was determined.
- Experimental Set-up. Sediments dredged in May 2003 from the brackish waters of the port of Antwerp were analysed in the laboratory
for soil texture, pH, electroconductivity, sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium, ammonium, nitrate, total nitrogen, chloride,
sulphur and the organotins TBT, DBT and MBT. The sediments were lagooned for one year to dewater, desalinate and improve their
structure. Salt-tolerant domestic and wild plants were selected and sown in May 2004. In August 2004, plants were harvested
and the produced biomass was determined. Samples were taken from vegetated and non-vegetated top and bottom sediments and
from plants growing above soil and analysed for TBT, DBT and MBT.
Results The fresh sediments showed a good supply with nutrients and a neutral pH, but were rather saline (EC 14 mS cm-1 of the saturated
paste extract). The salinity decreased to 3.7 mS cm-1 during lagoonation. The high and the low contaminated sediment had initially
43 and 1.6 mg TBT kg-1 dry weight, respectively. Besides TBT, several other contaminants were present in the sediments at
critical levels. The biomass production of the plant species from the field trial ranged from 0.2 to 13 tons dry mass per
hectare. Plants performing excellently were barley, sorghum, rape seed, a clover/grass mix and reed. If at all, a positive
influence of TBT on plant growth was seen. TBT was degraded significantly faster (>40%) below barley. The uptake of TBT, DBT
and MBT into stem and leaves of reed, grass and clover was very low, but measurable and not related to concentrations in soil.
No uptake of TBT or its metabolites into corn of barley was found.
Discussion This study confirmed former results: the toxicity of TBT to higher plants is low, and even high levels in soils would not
be a hindrance for crop production. The removal of TBT seemed to be increased by both lagooning and plant growth, although
the target values for sea dumping in use in certain European countries were not reached. A plausible explanation for the faster
degradation of TBT under vegetation is that oxygen is a limiting factor, and plants dewater the soil, thus aerating it. The
uptake of the organotins TBT, DBT and MBT into harvest products is probably due to attached soil particles.
Conclusions To summarize, barley was the optimal species: it grew very well despite the salinity of the dredged sediments, it had a significantly
positive effect on TBT removal; it showed no measurable uptake of TBT or the other butyltins into the harvested product; and
it is a cash crop well established in European agriculture.
Outlook The amounts of dredged sediments are high, and good soils are becoming increasingly rare. The feasibility of using dredged
sediments for non-food production, such as energy crops, should be investigated by a critical risk assessment. |