Pollution characteristics and environmental risks of ammonia nitrogen in retired nitrogen fertilizer plant sites
CHEN Yun1,2, JIANG Deng-deng1,2, YANG Kun-hua1,2, ZHU Xin1,2, KONG Ling-ya1,2, LI Xu-wei1,2, DENG Shao-po1,2
1. Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China; 2. China State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Management and Pollution Control, Nanjing 210042, China
Abstract：Based on the concentrations of NH4+-N in soil, groundwater, soil gas, and indoor air from abandoned nitrogen fertilizer plants sites, the polluted level and distribution characteristics of NH4+-N in these sites were analyzed, the human health risks for exposure to the NH4+-Nin soil and groundwater were evaluated, and the effects of ammonia volatilization on the risk of irritating odors and indoor air quality, as well as the impact on nearby surface water and downstream groundwater with NH4+-N migration and transformation was also evaluated. The results showed that the concentrations of NH4+-N in the soil and groundwater significantly varied in all four sites. The highest concentrations of NH4+-N in the soil of the four sites were as high as 12700.00, 2420.00, 2920.00, and 2370.00mg/kg, respectively, and the highest concentrations in the groundwater were up to 7550.00, 5100.00, 847.00, and 3760.00mg/L, respectively. The high concentration of NH4+-N was mainly distributed around production and the sewage treatment areas. The vertical distribution of NH4+-N in soil was different in four sites, in which the NH4+-N concentration mainly decreases with the increase of depth in site I, in which the soil is mainly clay, while the NH4+-N concentration generally showed an increasing trend with increasing depth in site II, III and IV that the soil is mainly silt sand or silty clay. The hazard quotient of NH4+-N was calculated in site I with a value of 1.54, which slightly exceeded the acceptable risk level (1.0). The concentrations of NH3 (g) detected in soil gas and indoor air were ≤9.88mg/m3 and ≤0.18mg/m3, respectively, which had no adverse effects on indoor air quality. The concentration of groundwater NH4+-N in site I and II nearby the surface water exceeded 1.05to 409.33times the Category IV (1.5mg/L) standard in the Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water. The concentrations of groundwater NH4+-N in site III and IV were slightly decreased during four times monitoring and the accumulation of nitrate nitrogen was found in the downstream monitoring wells. The results suggested that the human health risk of NH4+-N in the four sites were low, and the impact on indoor air quality was weak. However, the groundwater NH4+-N in the site was a pollution source for nearby surface water and downstream groundwater environment in the long term, and the nitrate nitrogen transformed by NH4+-N was more likely to migrate downstream.This study provides a scientific basis and practical experience for considering the environmental pollution risks of surface water and groundwater when dealing with NH4+-N in a site of nitrogen fertilizer plants in the future.
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