Redistribution and persistence of microorganisms and steroid hormones after soil-injection of swine slurry

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Mostofa Amin
  • Tina B. Bech
  • Anita Forslund
  • Martin Hansen
  • Søren O. Petersen
  • Mette Lægdsmand

The redistribution and fate of contaminants in pig slurry after direct injection were investigated at two field sites, Silstrup (sandy clay loam) and Estrup (sandy loam), in Denmark. Intact soil samples were collected for up to seven weeks after slurry injection and concentrations of Salmonella Typhimurium Bacteriophage 28B (phage 28B), Escherichia coli, steroid hormones and other slurry components (water, volatile solids, chloride and mineral N) determined in and around the injection slit. The two experiments at Silstrup and Estrup differed with respect to slurry solid content (6.3 vs. 0.8%), as well as soil clay content (27 vs. 15%) and differed considerably with respect to the initial redistribution of slurry-borne contaminants in soil. The transport of microorganisms from the slurry injection slit to the surrounding soil was much lower than that of mineral N and chloride due to attachment and entrapment. The redistribution of E. coli was more affected by site-specific conditions compared to phage 28B, possibly due to the larger cell size of E. coli. The overall recovery of phage 28B was 0.8-4%, and of E. coli 0.0-1.3% in different samples, by the end of the study. Nine different steroid hormones were detected in the slurry slit, and a slow redistribution to the surrounding soil was observed. Overall recovery of estrogens was 0.0 to 6.6% in different samples. The study showed that the combination of soil and slurry properties determined the initial spreading of contaminants, and hence the potential for subsequent leaching.

Original languageEnglish
JournalThe Science of the Total Environment
Volume466-467
Pages (from-to)1003-1010
Number of pages8
ISSN0048-9697
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

    Research areas

  • Animals, Colony Count, Microbial, Denmark, Escherichia coli, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Gonadal Steroid Hormones, Manure, Nitrogen, Salmonella Phages, Soil Microbiology, Soil Pollutants, Sus scrofa, Tandem Mass Spectrometry

ID: 123674378