Inhibition of nitrification by creosote-contaminated water

A leaching experiment was carried out in a saturated sand column contaminated with creosote. The toxicity of the leachate was determined by the inhibition of nitrification. Good correlations between the toxicity and the concentrations of five selected creosote compounds (benzene, toluene, o-xylene, phenol and o-cresol) in the leachate were observed. A statistical analysis showed that the two phenolic compounds were very toxic to nitrification. The pseudo-critical concentration (Sc) was estimated for four of the five compounds. Sc for benzene was 10.7 mg/l, 8.4 mg/l for o-xylene, 3.7 mg/l for phenol and 1.3 mg/l for o-cresol.