Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils and terrestrial biota after a spill of crude oil in Trecate, Italy.

Ecological and human health exposures from soil-based petroleum-derived contaminants commonly are estimated by using soil-to-biota transfer factors that usually are based on octanol-water partitioning. Few studies of biota have been conducted in relation to spills of crude oils in terrestrial environments. After a large blowout of crude oil in northern Italy in 1994, the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was examined over time and space in soils, uncultivated wild vegetation, insects, mice, and frogs in the area. Within two years of the blowout, PAH concentrations declined to background levels over much of the area where initial concentrations were within an order of magnitude above background, but had not declined to background in areas where starting concentrations exceeded background by two orders of magnitude. Octanol-water partitioning and extent of alkylation explained much of the variance in uptake of PAHs by plants and animals. The PAHs with lower octanol-water partition coefficients (K(ow)s) and higher-alkylated PAHs had higher biota-soil accumulation factors (BSAFs) than did high-K(ow) and unalkylated forms. The BSAFs for PAHs with higher K(ow)s were very low for plants, but much higher for animals, with frogs accumulating more of these compounds than other species.