Abstract
Composite surface soil samples were collected at 0, 25, and 50 cm from the base of 12 utility poles on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, to assess the extent to which pentachlorophenol, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo furans may have leached from pentachlorophenol-treated poles. Six pairs of utility poles were included, consisting of an "old" pole manufactured in 1959 or 1963, a "new" pole manufactured within the past 20 years, and a suitable background soil sample from the same vicinity. Old poles had greater concentrations of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) equivalents (TEQs) near the pole base and at 25 cm than "new" poles did. For all 12 poles combined, the mean pentachlorophenol levels in soil were 1810, 157, and 17.8 ppm dry weight (d.w.) near the pole bases, at 25 and 50 cm from the poles, respectively, while the mean total TEQ levels in soil were 15,200, 5170, and 1510 parts per trillion d.w. at those distances. Surface soil levels of pentachlorophenol and TCDD-TEQs exceeded both human health and ecological risk-based screening levels. The design and results of this study were similar to another project in Montreal, Quebec in Canada. Together the results are cause for concern, indicating that millions of similarly treated utility poles in North America may be point sources of pentachlorophenol and dioxins/furans to soil.