Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), may be found in high
concentrations in soils of former industrial sites including manufactured gas plants or coking plants. Techniques
using moderate solvent extraction, biological tests or solid phase extraction have proved useful for pollution
availability estimation. However, more accurate and reliable measurement tools specifically adapted to low
concentrations are still needed. Based on a solid–liquid extraction using a Tenax® resin, we suggest a protocol
to assess the bioavailability of PAHs, dedicated to aged industrial wasteland soils. Desorption kinetics were
measured on three representative contaminated industrial soils. Results were modeled using a first order twocompartment
model that provided an estimate of the rapidly desorbing fraction, which was considered to be
available, over a 30 h extraction period. In conclusion, this method, allowing the measurement of the available
fraction, might provemore relevant than the total concentration value when assessing soil contamination related
risks. It may also predict achievable bioremediation performances.