soil solution in a soil treated with digested sewage sludge

SUMMARY Toxic trace metals may percolate to the ground water from sewage sludge disposed onto land. Analyses are presented of the soil solution from a slightly acid loamy soil treated 7 years earlier with single applications of digested sewage sludge in amounts equivalent to 0, 150 & 330 t dry matter ha−1 These very heavy dressings correspond to 2 & 4.5 times the recommended 30–year limit. Samples of soil and soil solution from four depths to 80 cm were analysed for Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cl, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, S, Sr, V, Zn, together with the OM of the soil, and the pH, alkalinity, dissolved organic carbon, and absorbance at 350 nm of the solutions. These very heavy sludge applications were apparently still releasing substantial quantities of NO3, and some SO4 even after 7 years. Nitrate, SO4, Mg, Ca, Sr, B, and possibly Ba are still moving through the profile, possibly to the ground water. Solution concentrations of Cu and Zn are considerably higher at all depths than those in the untreated plot, but they fall off sharply with depth. It is unlikely that any Cu or Zn is now reaching the ground water. The paper also presents a set of published solution analyses for soils, sludge–treated soils and digested sludge, as a basis for further studies.