Superfund Research Program
Development of Stable Isotope Based Methods to Predict Bioavailability of Hydrophobic Organic Contaminants in Sediments
Project Leader: Jay Gan
Grant Number: R01ES020921
Funding Period: 2011-2014
Program Links
Research Briefs
- 229 - Comparing Black Carbon Types to Sequester PBDEs in Sediments -- Gan
Release Date: 01/08/2014Researchers from the University of California (UC), Riverside, found that the addition of black carbon reduces the bioavailability, or the fraction of chemicals that can be taken up by organisms, of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediment. They developed a method to measure PBDE bioavailability in sediment and found that reduction in bioavailability varied greatly depending on the type of black carbon; activated carbon showed the best efficiency compared to biochar or charcoal.