Ecological effects of soil contamination at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

Assessment of the ecological condition of contaminated soil was conducted in portions of the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland as part of an ecological risk assessment. This area is covered by open fields, woods and nontidal marshes. Chemicals disposed of in open burning pits included methylphosphonothioic acid, dichlorodiethyl sulfide, and titanium tetrachloride and sulfur trioxide/chlorosulfonic acid. Previous soil analysis showed extensive surface soil contamination with metals, nitrate, PCBs and pesticides. This assessment included characterizing soil biota, biologically-mediated processes in soil and aboveground biomass. Field surveys of the soil invertebrate communities showed significant reductions in the total abundance of animals, reductions in the abundance of several taxonomic and functional groups of soil invertebrates, and changes in the activity of epigeic arthropods in contaminated areas when compared with the local [open quotes]background[close quotes] area. Laboratory toxicity tests also demonstrated that microbial activity and success of egg hatching of ground beetle Harpalus pensylvanicus were reduced in contaminated soils. These results suggest that impacts to soil ecosystems should be explicitly considered in ecological risk assessment.