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Multispecies toxicity assessment of compost produced in bioremediation of an explosives‐contaminated sediment

A multispecies terrestrial test system was used to assess the environmental effectiveness of composting for bioremediation of explosives‐contaminated soils. The assessment involved comparing biological responses, from the individual to the community level, in remediated and reference composts. A 6‐month greenhouse study incorporated two soil invertebrate species, three plant species and an associated symbiont, and the naturally occurring complement of soil microorganisms. Measured parameters included growth and reproduction of earthworms and isopods; soil mite diversity; soil lipid class composition as an indicator of soil microbial community structure; plant growth, photosynthesis, and reproduction; and root nodulation and symbiotic N2 fixation. Additional short‐term toxicity tests of seed germination and earthworm survival were performed to supplement the mesocosm data. Compost prepared from the explosives‐contaminated soil inhibited several aspects of plant growth and physiology, but few adverse effects on soil invertebrates were detected. An initial lag in earthworm and isopod reproduction occurred in the reference compost, reflecting some inherent compost differences not associated with contamination, and highlighting the importance and the difficulty of finding appropriate reference soils for assessing hazardous waste sites or remediation technologies. Nonetheless, the results from this study suggested some nonlethal effects from the contaminated‐soil compost, primarily to plants. The mesocosm methodology used in this study can bridge the gap between traditional short‐term toxicity testing and longer term field assessments, and provide information on ecological effects by explicitly including measurements of multiple species across several levels of ecological organization.