Natürliche bildung von chlorierten Essigsäuren in Böden und Sedimenten

The formation of haloacetates, which are important toxic environmental substances, has been controversial. Whereas the anthropogenic industrial production is well established, a natural formation has also been considered. In this study the natural formation of chloroacetic acids from soil, as well as humic material which is present in soil has been investigated. It is shown that chloroacetates are formed from humic material with a linear relationship between the humic acid used and chloroaetates formed. More dichloroacetate than trichloroacetate is formed. The addition of Fe 2+/3+ and H 2 O 2 leads to an increased yield. From the results we conclude that an abiotic formation of halogenated acetic acids is taking place in soil environments.