Pentachlorophenol-induced release of soil organics and colloids

It was observed that when dissolved pentachlorophenol (PCP) at aqueous concentration between 1 and 10 mg/l was contacted with soil, organics from the soil surface were solubilized and soil colloids were stabilized. The stable soil colloids, identified microscopically as clays, retained between 2.6% and 13% of the PCP depending on the PCP added and the soil type. The soil organics which were released from the soil surface, tentatively characterized as fulvic acids, increased with increasing PCP additions. These soil organics enhanced the solubility and decreased adsorption of pentachlorophenol due to cosolvency. These interactions appear to provide a mechanism for enhanced transport of contaminants in both ground and surface water through both colloidal transport and increased solubility when an organic contaminant is discharged or leaks into a soil-water system.