Uso di misure spettroradiometriche del colore per la predizione dei contenuti di policlorobifenili (PCB) nei suoli: caso studio di un'area industriale dismessa del sud Italia

Soil contamination with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is a major problem in several Italian industrial areas. e evaluation of the content and spatial distribution of these organic compounds is an essential pre-requisite for the characterization and rehabilitation of contaminated sites. Conventional laboratory analyses, although useful and irreplaceable for a precise and detailed evaluation of the presence of these contaminants, are expensive and time- consuming, thus not very suitable for investigation over large areas; hence, the need to develop/validate alternative rapid and low-cost techniques, to use as substitutive or integrative to conventional analytical approaches. In this study, the potential of soil color based on spectrometric measurements, combined with regression analysis, for the prediction of PCBs content, were assessed. To this end, 28 soil samples were used, sampled in an abandoned industrial area of the province of Taranto (ex-MATRA), heavily contaminated by the spillage of oils used as dielectric fluids, containing a mixture of different PCBs congeners. The color coordinates in different color systems were determined for the afore-mentioned samples. rough conventional laboratory analyses, the contents of PCBs (eighteen congeners and their sum) were determined for the same samples, as well as Extractable Organic Halogens (EOX). To predict the PCB and EOX values as a function of soil color variables, a simple linear regression statistical analysis was performed, from which excellent predictive models were obtained (R2>0.80).