ABSTRACT
Various kinds and forms of interactions occurring between organic chemicals (as pollutants) and the various soil fractions will participate in the determination of the fate of these pollutants. These interactions can be more complex than those previously described in interactions between inorganic pollutants and soil fractions. In soils contaminated by organic chemicals, the additional factor of microbial presence needs to be considered. Biotic redox plays a significant role in the determination of the persistence and fate of organic chemical pollutants. Since these chemicals are generally susceptible to degradation by biotic processes, determination of the fate of the pollutant chemicals is most often considered in terms of the resistance to degradation of the pollutants and/or their products. When evidence shows that a particular organic pollutant resists biodegradation, the pollutant is identified as a recalcitrant (organic chemical) pollutant, and the study of the fate of the pollutant includes determination of the persistence of the pollutant — see Section 6.4 for the definitions of
recalcitrance
and
persistence
.
