Comparison of the health risks associated with different exposure pathways of multiple volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons in contaminated drinking groundwater

Groundwater pollution risk, health effects and sustainable management of halocarbons in typical industrial parks

As important chemical raw materials and organic solvents, halogenated hydrocarbons not only play an important role in economic development, but are also the main source of environmental pollution. This study proposed an improved groundwater risk assessment model system, aimed at identifying and treating contaminants at leak sites. Groundwater ubiquity score (GUS) was used to evaluate the leachability of organic pollutants. The entropy-weighted water quality index (EWQI) method was used to assess the comprehensive quality of groundwater at the site. An improved groundwater health risk assessment model was constructed to analyze the health risks of groundwater. The sources of organic pollutants were identified based on the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. Self-organizing mapping (SOM) and the K-means algorithm were integrated to classify and manage pollution source areas. The results showed that groundwater in the study area was strongly affected by human activities. The pollution source was located in a factory near S05. Different organic pollutants were highly leachable and had high potential to contaminate surrounding groundwater. 1,2-dichloropropane and 1,2,3-trichloropropane caused the largest range of contamination. The groundwater pollution index in the study area was high, and 72% of the monitoring points were non-drinkable. Both the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic indexes of groundwater far exceeded the international standard limits and had a great impact on human health. 1,2,3-trichloropropane and 1,2-dichloropropane were major non-carcinogenic risk factors. The leakage of pollutants and pesticide solvents were the main causes of groundwater pollution. Cluster areas III and II were areas with significant pollution impacts and needed to be monitored intensively. Most areas were cluster I, with relatively low risk. This study can provide technical support for groundwater pollution risk assessment and management in similar industrial parks.

Occurrence of BTX and PAHs in underground drinking water of coking contaminated sites: Linkage with altitude and health risk assessment by boiling-modified models

The safety of underground drinking water has received widespread attention. However, few studies have focused on the occurrence and health risks of pollutants in underground drinking water of coking contaminated sites. In this study, the distribution characteristics, sources, and human health risks of benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in underground drinking water from a typical coking contaminated site in Shanxi of China were investigated. The average concentrations of BTX and PAHs in coking plant (CP) were 5.1 and 4.8 times higher than those in residential area (RA), respectively. Toluene and Benzene were the main BTX, while Acenaphthene, Fluorene, and Pyrene were the main PAHs. Concentrations of BTX/PAHs were negatively correlated with altitude, revealing altitude might be an important geological factor influencing spatial distribution of BTX/PAHs. PMF model demonstrated that the BTX/PAHs pollution in RA mainly originated from coking industrial activities. Health risk assessments were conducted by a modified US EPA-based model, in which environmental concentrations were replaced by residual concentrations after boiling. Residual ratios of different BTX/PAHs were determined by boiling experiments to be 9.4-93.8 %. The average total carcinogenic risks after boiling were decreased from 2.6 × 10-6 to 1.4 × 10-6 for adults, and from 4.3 × 10-6 to 2.1 × 10-6 for children, suggesting boiling was an effective strategy to reduce the carcinogenic risks from BTX/PAHs, especially for ingestion pathway. Monte Carlo simulation results matched well with the calculated results, suggesting the uncertainty was acceptable and the risk assessment results were reliable. This study provided useful information for revealing the spatial distribution of BTX/PAHs in underground drinking water of coking contaminated sites, understanding their linkage with altitude, and also helped to more accurately evaluate the health risks by using the newly established boiling-modified models.

N-doped biochar-catalyzed dechlorination of carbon tetrachloride in sulfide-containing aqueous solutions: Performances, mechanisms and pathways

Nitrogen-doped biochar (N-BC) has been widely concerned in the field of environmental protection. This study verified the alfalfa-based N-BC pyrolyzed at different temperatures is able to catalyze carbon tetrachloride (CT) dechlorination in sulfide-containing aqueous solutions under normal environmental pH range (6.3 ∼ 8.3) effectively, with Cl^-, trichloromethane (CF), CS₂ and HCO₃^- as predominated products. Higher pyrolysis temperature resulted in larger specific surface area, more pores and better catalytic capacity. The N-BC had a good tolerance to water matrix in catalyzing CT dechlorination by sulfide, while the higher pH value or higher dosage of sulfide or N-BC was beneficial to catalytic CT dechlorination. The generation of CS₂ was the major CT dechlorination pathway, attributing to the SN₂ nucleophilic substitution by newborn C-SS- structure generating from the interaction between pyridine-N and sulfide. Besides, generation of CF via hydrogenolysis process was the minor CT dechlorination pathway, owing to the enhanced electron transfer by pyrrole-N, graphitic-N and quinones on surface of N-BC. It was the first time that N-BC was found to be effective in catalyzing the hydrogenolysis process of CT dechlorination. This study emphasized the importance of N-BC in restoring chlorinated hydrocarbons polluted aquatic environment containing sulfide, such as sediments.

Characteristics of tailpipe volatile halogenated hydrocarbon (VHC) emissions from in-use vehicles during real-world driving

Vehicular emissions have become a primary anthropogenic source of urban atmospheric volatile halogenated hydrocarbons (VHCs) with the rapid increase of vehicle population, while characteristics of the VHC emissions from different vehicles were rarely systematically investigated. In this study, the on-road tailpipe emissions were sampled from seven in-use vehicles, including two light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGV), three light-duty diesel trucks (LDDT), one heavy-duty diesel truck (HDDT), and a liquefied petroleum gas-electric hybrid bus (LPGB), using a portable emission measurement system (PEMS) combined with summa canisters, and 35 individual VHC species were identified by a gas chromatography mass spectrometry detector (GC-MSD). Results showed that VHC emissions under urban driving conditions were much higher than those on the suburban roads and highways. The VHC emission factors of LDGV were 1.2 ± 0.34 mg/km and 3.6 ± 1.5, 6.8 ± 0.89, and 1.6 ± 0.28 mg/km for LDDT, HDDT, and LPGB, respectively. For the LDGV, chlorobenzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, and hexachlorobutadiene were the top three VHC species. 1,2-Dichloroethane, trichloromethane, and methyl chloride were the main VHC constituents in the LDDT. Chlorobenzene was the most abundant VOC species for the HDDT, followed by 1,2-dichloroethane and 1,4-dichlorobenzene. The major species for LPGB were 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, carbon tetrachloride, and benzyl chloride. The major tailpipe VHC species obtained in this study were partial consistent with previous studies with different test methods. The results provide an initial evaluation of the tailpipe VHC emissions, which may provide experimental data support for the refined source apportionment of atmospheric VHCs and the control of vehicular VHCs.

A coupled optimization of groundwater remediation alternatives screening under health risk assessment: An application to a petroleum-contaminated site in a typical cold industrial region in Northeastern China

Contaminated sites have been recognized as posing serious comprehensive social and environmental issues and have earned worldwide attention. China is becoming one of the largest contaminated sites remediation markets in the world and the contaminated sites in northeastern China need to rehabilitate urgently. However, remediation planning is often hindered by high financial costs resulting from incomplete assessments of pollution and inappropriate remediation plans. In-depth contaminated site assessments can provide the necessary baseline data for remediation alternatives screening. Therefore, risk assessments and remediation decisions will play crucial roles in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of contaminated sites in China. The main objectives of this study were to present a novel method for health risk assessment (HRA) and to demonstrate a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) based on this method to select the most suitable remediation alternatives of groundwater and to prioritize management of contaminated site. To demonstrate the HRA and MCDA processes, a typical contaminated site in Longtan, Jilin province, China, was used. The results of this research indicated that Benzene (PhH) and 1,2-Dichloroethylene (1,2-DCE) were the main organic pollutants and the vanillin plant in the north of the site was main pollution source. Pollution migrated from the north to the south and the health risk range in winter was significantly greater than in summer. Four remediation alternatives were proposed on the basis of the HRA results. The MCDA results showed that PRB was the most suitable technology for integrating the relevant environmental, social, economic, and technical aspects required for remediation. This study may help responsible agencies to strengthen local risk-based program screening frameworks for contaminated sites, to promote reconstruction projects, and to increase local public confidence of contaminated sites remediation.

Health risk assessment of total exposure from cadmium in South China

Heavy metal pollution and hazards are a global major concern. Heavy metals can be directly or indirectly harmful to humans through ingestion, inhalation, and deraml. According to the literature survey, cadmium (Cd) total exposure assessment and health risk assessment were performed in a population group from South China. Results showed that the Cd contents in PM_2.5 and vegetables exceeded national standard limits. The same sources of Cd pollution contributed to different media; the main sources were artificial industrial activities such as electroplating, mining and smelting. The average daily dose of Cd via ingestion exceeded the provisional tolerable monthly intake proposed by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). Multimedia exposure via all three pathways followed the order 0-5-year-old children (3.26 × 10^-3 mg kg^-1·d^-1)>6-17-year-old children (1.46 × 10^-3 mg kg^-1·d^-1)>adults (1.18 × 10^-3 mg kg^-1·d^-1). The exposure from point source pollution was quite different from the results for nonpoint sources. Ingestion was the exposure pathway that contributes the largest proportion of multipathway and multimedia total exposure, accounting for over 99% of the total exposure in different populations. Staple foods, vegetables and meat were the three main exposure media for ingestion. The hazard quotients of multipathway and multimedia exposure to Cd in different populations were 5.57, 2.87 and 2.26, respectively, all at unacceptable risk levels. This study highlights the importance of multipathway and multimedia in the health risk assessment of heavy metal exposure in South China, and provides risk management measures to reduce noncarcinogenic health risks.

Fate and contaminant transport model-driven probabilistic human health risk assessment of DNAPL-contaminated site

In this study, fate and contaminant transport model-driven human health risk indexes were calculated due to the presence of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in the subsurface environment of air force base area in Florida, USA. Source concentration data of DNAPLs was used for the calculation of transport model-driven health risk indexes for the children and adult sub-population via direct oral ingestion and skin dermal contact exposure scenario using 10,000 Monte Carlo type simulations. The highest variation in the probability distribution of transformed DNAPL compound (cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) > vinyl chloride (VC)) was observed as compared to parent DNAPL (tetrachloroethene (PCE)) based on the 50-year simulation timespan. Transformed DNAPL compounds (VC, cis-DCE) posed the highest risk to human health for a longer duration (up to 15 years) in comparison to parent DNAPL (PCE), as non-carcinogenic hazard quotient varied from 400 to 1100. Carcinogenic health risks were observed as 3-order of magnitude higher than safe limit (HQ_Safe < 10^-6) from 2nd to 5th year timespan and fall in the high-risk zone, indicating the need for a remediation plan for a contaminated site. Variance attribution analysis revealed that concentration, body weight, and exposure duration (contribution percentage - 70 to 95%) were the most important parameters, highlighting the impact of dispersivity and exposure model in the estimation of risk indexes. This approach can help decision-makers when a contaminated site with partial data on hydrogeological properties and with higher uncertainty in model parameters is to be assessed for the formulation of remediation measures.