The present European Union (EU) Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EEC) is undergoing modifications aimed at enhancing its applicability in the agricultural sector. The Directive's existing limit values for heavy metal concentrations in soils are in the process of being revised. However, to comprehensively understand their effects on EU agricultural lands, additional evaluations are necessary. This is particularly important given that ecological risk assessments are often performed on a site‐specific basis, potentially overlooking broader regional implications. The main objective of the current work is to introduce a methodological approach to quantify the impact of sewage sludge (SS) application on agricultural soils in the EU and the United Kingdom. Concentrations of heavy metals (HMs) (Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) in agricultural land from Land Use/Land Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) 2009 topsoil database were used as a baseline. Maximum quantities of SS that can be safely applied to agricultural lands were obtained by a modeling procedure was used to determine the maximum safe quantities of SS that can be applied to agricultural lands for each country within the European Member States and the United Kingdom. Accumulation of HMs in soils was modelled by using a representative SS composition, distributed over 10 successive years at 5 Mg ha−1 year−1 rate. Ecological risk impact was assessed by using both the single ecological risk index (Er) and the integrated potential ecological risk index (RI). Maximum quantities of SS applied on agricultural soils in EU + UK were estimated to be 45 Mg ha−1 at the country level. We found that 19% of agricultural land (around 28,471,900 ha) in the EU + UK shows a higher RI than moderate risk after long time application of the representative SS. We show that the combination of the HM concentrations from the LUCAS topsoil survey and assumptions on the SS composition and soil HM partitioning can be used to define the actual and potential soil pollution rate in EU + UK. We demonstrate that the proposed methodology can be used by policymakers, farmers, regional authorities and other stakeholders, with possible adaptions based on local in‐depth soil and SS knowledge.

中文翻译：

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欧洲农业土壤污水污泥应用重金属的生态风险评估


现行的欧盟 （EU） 污水污泥指令 （86/278/EEC） 正在进行修订，旨在提高其在农业领域的适用性。该指令现有的土壤中重金属浓度限值正在修订中。然而，要全面了解它们对欧盟农业用地的影响，有必要进行额外的评估。鉴于生态风险评估通常是在特定地点的基础上进行的，可能会忽略更广泛的区域影响，这一点尤为重要。当前工作的主要目标是引入一种方法来量化污水污泥 （SS） 应用对欧盟和英国农业土壤的影响。以 2009 年土地利用/土地覆盖面积框架调查 （LUCAS） 表土数据库中农业用地中重金属 （HMs） （Cd、Cu、Hg、Ni、Pb 和 Zn） 的浓度为基线。通过建模程序获得可安全应用于农业用地的最大 SS 量，以确定可应用于欧洲成员国和英国内每个国家/地区农业用地的最大安全量。通过使用具有代表性的 SS 成分对土壤中 HMs 的积累进行建模，以 5 Mg ha-1 年-1 的速率连续 10 年分布。采用单一生态风险指数 （Er） 和综合潜在生态风险指数 （RI） 评价生态风险影响。在国家层面，欧盟 + 英国农业土壤上施用的 SS 的最大数量估计为 45 Mg ha-1。 我们发现，在长期应用代表性 SS 后，欧盟 + 英国 19% 的农业用地（约 28,471,900 公顷）的 RI 高于中等风险。我们表明，来自 LUCAS 表土调查的 HM 浓度与对 SS 成分和土壤 HM 分配的假设的组合可用于定义欧盟 + 英国的实际和潜在土壤污染率。我们证明，所提出的方法可供政策制定者、农民、区域当局和其他利益相关者使用，并可能根据当地深入的土壤和 SS 知识进行调整。