Application of System Dynamics technique to simulate the fate of persistent organic pollutants in soils

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are within the most dangerous pollutants released into the environment by human activities. Due to their resistance to degradation (chemical, biological or photolytic), it is critical to assess the fate and environmental hazards of the exchange of POPs between different environmental media. System Dynamics enables to represent complex systems and analyze their dynamic behavior. It provides a highly visual representation of the structure of the system and the existing relationships between the several parameters and variables, facilitating the understanding of the behavior of the system. In the present study the fate of gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (lindane) in a contaminated soil was modeled using the Vensim (R) simulation software. Results show a gradual decrease in the lindane content in the soil during a simulation period of 10 years. The most important route affecting the concentrations of the contaminant was the biochemical degradation, followed by infiltration and hydrodynamic dispersion. The model appeared to be highly sensitive to the half-life of the pollutant, which value depends on environmental conditions and directly affects the biochemical degradation. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.