Pedosphere (4): 863--871, 2026
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2026 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Genotoxic assessment of a di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate-contaminated soil treated by simulated landfarming or chemical oxidation |
Eder José ORDOÑEZ-FRÍAS1, Verónica Isidra DOMÍNGUEZ-RODRÍGUEZ1 , Randy Howard ADAMS1, Juana SÁNCHEZ-ALARCÓN2, Rafael VALENCIA-QUINTANA2 |
1 División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Villahermosa 86104 (Mexico);
2 Department Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala 90120 (Mexico) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Phthalate esters are contaminants of emerging concern and can cause endocrine disruption, mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, and teratogenicity. Although the effectiveness of remediation techniques is usually evaluated by chemical analysis (reduction of the contaminant concentration), the true toxicity of the treated soil is rarely demonstrated. In this study, genotoxicity was evaluated using the micronuclei frequency assay to test the efficacy of two remediation techniques, chemical oxidation and bioremediation (i.e., simulated landfarming), in reducing the genotoxicity of a soil contaminated with di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), a phthalate ester. Meristematic root cells of Vicia faba were exposed for 4 h to aqueous extracts of: i) uncontaminated soil (negative control), ii) soil contaminated with 25 g kg-1 DEHP without remediation (positive control), iii) DEHP-contaminated soil treated with hydrogen peroxide (2% and 2.5%), and iv) DEHP-contaminated soil treated by simulated landfarming (aeration, moisture maintenance, and with/without fertilizer addition). Subsequently, the cells were allowed to recover for 18 or 44 h, and micronuclei were observed under a microscope. The chemical oxidation treatments showed micronuclei frequencies similar to that in the positive control after 44 h; thus, chemical oxidation did not reduce the genotoxicity of the contaminant and is not recommended. Both simulated landfarming techniques resulted in a reduction in genotoxicity, but only the treatment without fertilizer addition, after 180 d of treatment, showed no significant difference in micronuclei frequency with the negative control. Thus, the technical feasibility of this bioremediation technique, which is also a promising option in terms of costs, is confirmed by both acute toxicity (a focus of our previous investigation) and genotoxicity evaluation. |
| Key Words: bioassay,bioremediation,emerging contaminant,genotoxicity,meristematic cell,micronuclei,mutagenic effect,phthalate ester,plasticizer |
| Citation: Ordoñez-Frías E J, Domínguez-Rodríguez V I, Adams R H, Sánchez-Alarcón J, Valencia-Quintana R. 2026. Genotoxic assessment of a di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate-contaminated soil treated by simulated landfarming or chemical oxidation. Pedosphere. 36(4): 863-871. |
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