TY - JOUR TI - Microbial reductive dechlorination of weathered polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in contaminated sediments DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3QN66HN PY - 2010 AB - Sediments contaminated with weathered polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) are problematic around the world. River Kymijoki is highly contaminated with PCDFs mainly originating from the production of the wood preservative Ky-5 until the 1980s. Limited information is available on the in situ microbial reductive dechlorination of weathered PCDD/Fs. The overall objectives of my work were to assess the potential for anaerobic microbial dechlorination of weathered PCDFs and to gain information on the application in bioremediation and detoxification of contaminated sediment using Kymijoki River sediments as a case model. Experiments in mesocosms (30 L), microcosms (200 mL) and enrichment cultures (40 mL) demonstrated the potential for dechlorination of weathered PCDFs as well as spiked PCDD/Fs by the indigenous microorganisms of Kymijoki River sediment. The relative decrease of highly chlorinated dibenzofurans (CDFs) was accompanied with an increase of tetra- and penta-CDFs over a 7-year period in mesocosms. Amendment with halogenated co-substrates, tetrachlorobenzene (TeCB) and pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB), and bioaugmentation with Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195 selectively stimulated dechlorination of weathered PCDFs after 18 months in microcosms. Dechlorinating enrichment cultures were established from the microcosms and spiked with 1,2,3,4-tetra-CDD/F and octaCDF with PCNB as a co-substrate. 1,2,3,4-tetra-CDD was dechlorinated mainly via 1,2,3-triCDD to 2,3-di-CDD and 2-mono-CDD over 13 months incubation. Dechlorination of 1,2,3,4-tetra-CDF was slow and less extensive compared to that of 1,2,3,4-tetra-CDD, with 2,4-di-CDF as the most abundant dechlorination product accumulating after 13 months. More extensive dechlorination of 1,2,3,4-tetra-CDD was observed in the presence of PCNB, which demonstrated that PCNB was capable of enhancing the dechlorinating potential of the indigenous microorganisms in Kymijoki sediments. Dechlorination of spiked octa-CDF was observed with the production of hepta-, hexa-, penta- and tetra-CDFs over 5.5 months incubation. DGGE analysis revealed diverse Chloroflexi community in mesocosms and a highly selected Chloroflexi community in the enrichment cultures. One of the stimulated Chloroflexi populations clustered closely with the Pinellas subgroup of Dehalococcoides. Our results suggest that dechlorination of weathered PCDD/Fs contaminants may be mediated by indigenous microbial populations as a means for in situ bioremediation of PCDD/F contaminated sediments. KW - Environmental Sciences KW - Sediments (Geology) KW - Microbial contamination KW - Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins LA - eng ER -