Vermiremediation
of Pharmaceutical-Contaminated Soils
and Organic Amendments
Juan C. Sanchez-Hernandez
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
2 Impact of Earthworms on Soil Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
3 Impact of Earthworms on Environmental Fate of Pharmaceuticals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
4 Pharmaceutical Toxicity in Earthworms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
5 Pharmaceutical-Contaminated Soil Amendments (Ex Situ Vermiremediation) . . . . . . . . . . . 351
6 Pharmaceutical-Contaminated Soils (In Situ Vermiremediation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
7 Biochar-Improved Vermiremediation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
8 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Abstract Human and veterinary pharmaceuticals reach agricultural soils via crop
irrigation with treated wastewater and via soil fertilising with biosolids or manure.
Compelling evidences on the environmental fate of pharmaceuticals suggest that
accumulation of these emerging pollutants in soil is currently a serious risk for soil
quality and food security. Currently, engineered remediation methodologies to
remove pharmaceuticals from soils as well as those (e.g. aerobic composting) to
treat biosolids and manure are not sufficiently efficient to full removal of pharmaceuticals. Moreover, these techniques are often economically prohibitive and
may cause adverse side-effects in the environment. Microbes, soil fauna
(e.g. earthworms) and their interactions exert a strong control in the organic matter
decomposition and nutrient cycling of soil. By taking advantage of these naturally
occurring processes, we propose the use of earthworms to clean biosolids and
manure (ex situ vermiremediation) and to reduce pharmaceutical bioavailability in
soil (in situ vermiremediation). The impact of earthworms on soil physicochemical
J. C. Sanchez-Hernandez (*)
Laboratory of Ecotoxicology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La
Mancha, Toledo, Spain
e-mail: juancarlos.sanchez@uclm.es
Sandra Pérez Solsona, Nicola Montemurro, Serge Chiron, and Damià Barceló (eds.),
Interaction and Fate of Pharmaceuticals in Soil-Crop Systems: The Impact of
Reclaimed Wastewater, Hdb Env Chem (2021) 103: 339–376, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_625,
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020, Published online: 15 August 2020
339
of Pharmaceutical-Contaminated Soils
and Organic Amendments
Juan C. Sanchez-Hernandez
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
2 Impact of Earthworms on Soil Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
3 Impact of Earthworms on Environmental Fate of Pharmaceuticals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
4 Pharmaceutical Toxicity in Earthworms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
5 Pharmaceutical-Contaminated Soil Amendments (Ex Situ Vermiremediation) . . . . . . . . . . . 351
6 Pharmaceutical-Contaminated Soils (In Situ Vermiremediation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
7 Biochar-Improved Vermiremediation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
8 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Abstract Human and veterinary pharmaceuticals reach agricultural soils via crop
irrigation with treated wastewater and via soil fertilising with biosolids or manure.
Compelling evidences on the environmental fate of pharmaceuticals suggest that
accumulation of these emerging pollutants in soil is currently a serious risk for soil
quality and food security. Currently, engineered remediation methodologies to
remove pharmaceuticals from soils as well as those (e.g. aerobic composting) to
treat biosolids and manure are not sufficiently efficient to full removal of pharmaceuticals. Moreover, these techniques are often economically prohibitive and
may cause adverse side-effects in the environment. Microbes, soil fauna
(e.g. earthworms) and their interactions exert a strong control in the organic matter
decomposition and nutrient cycling of soil. By taking advantage of these naturally
occurring processes, we propose the use of earthworms to clean biosolids and
manure (ex situ vermiremediation) and to reduce pharmaceutical bioavailability in
soil (in situ vermiremediation). The impact of earthworms on soil physicochemical
J. C. Sanchez-Hernandez (*)
Laboratory of Ecotoxicology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Castilla-La
Mancha, Toledo, Spain
e-mail: juancarlos.sanchez@uclm.es
Sandra Pérez Solsona, Nicola Montemurro, Serge Chiron, and Damià Barceló (eds.),
Interaction and Fate of Pharmaceuticals in Soil-Crop Systems: The Impact of
Reclaimed Wastewater, Hdb Env Chem (2021) 103: 339–376, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_625,
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020, Published online: 15 August 2020
339