@ARTICLE{Włodarczyk-Makuła_M._Half-Life_2012, author={Włodarczyk-Makuła, M.}, volume={vol. 38}, number={No 2}, journal={Archives of Environmental Protection}, howpublished={online}, year={2012}, publisher={Polish Academy of Sciences}, abstract={In Poland, according to the statistical data, about 40% of sewage sludges originating from wastewater treatment plants are applied in the agriculture. The mentioned way of application of sewage sludges causes the hazard of contamination of environment with carcinogenic compounds due to the presence of some organic micropollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The proposal of changing UE Directive obligates control of organic pollutants (PAHs and others) in sewage sludges applied in the agriculture. The aim of the investigations was to estimate the persistence of PAHs under stored conditions by determining half-life of their decomposition. Eight carcinogenic PAHs, among 16 compounds, listed by EPA were determined. In this study, the quantity changes in the concentration of PAHs in stored sewage sludges were investigated. Sewage sludges were stored under aerobic conditions for 16 weeks. At the same time the sewage sludges with sodium azide added, in order to deactivate the microorganisms (abiotic samples), were also stored. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to qualify and quantify PAHs in 2- and 4-week intervals. Sewage sludges were taken two fold from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. In practice, the sewage sludges are directed to the disposal site. The initial concentration of 16 PAHs in sewage sludge was equal to 582 μg/kg.d.m. The changes in the concentration of PAHs corresponded to exponential function. Values of correlation coefficients indicate a significant dependence of PAHs persistence and concentration on time exposition. Under experimental conditions the half-lives of individual compounds were diversed. In biotic samples half-life of hydrocarbons was in the range of 17 to 126 days. Half-life of PAHs in abiotic sewage sludges was in the range of 32 to 2048 days. The most persistent were benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(b) fluoranthene, respectively. A significant dependence of PAHs' decrease on the presence of microorganisms in sewage sludges after 10 weeks of storage was found.}, type={Artykuły / Articles}, title={Half-Life of Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Stored Sewage Sludge}, URL={http://www.czasopisma.pan.pl/Content/85724/PDF/10265-Volume38-Issue2_04-paper.pdf}, doi={10.2478/v10265-012-0016-6}, keywords={sewage sludge, carcinogenic PAHs, half-life, exponential equation, depositional conditions}, }