scholarly journals Minimizing the Health Risks from Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils by Using Electric Field-Based Treatment for Soil Remediation

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Istrate ◽  
Diana Cocârță ◽  
Zucheng Wu ◽  
Mihaela Stoian
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Contaminated Soils ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons ◽  
Voltage Gradient ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Industrial Workers

The present work addresses the assessment of human health risk from soil contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) due to crude oil pollution, with a particular focus on the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) group of carcinogenic and toxic substances. Given that the measured risk for human health exceeded the accepted level, the study considered an electrochemical remediation method. The laboratory-scale experiments were conducted by using an electric field-based treatment as a possible solution for the remediation of contaminated soil. After 20 days of treatment, while the voltage applied was 15 V (specific voltage of 1 V/cm), the hydrocarbon content was significantly reduced. The parameters measured to determine the overall remediation efficiency were pH, redox potential, ionic strength, soil characteristics, voltage gradient, and zeta potential. The remediation degree observed during the experiments was around 50% for TPHs and 46% for PAHs. The applied remediation method resulted in significant removal efficiency of the tested contaminants from the soil. Consequently, the human health risk assessment for the new degree of contaminants in the soil was achieved. This data demonstrated to what extent the application of the remediation applied technology ensured an acceptable risk under the same exposure conditions for the industrial workers.

scholarly journals Human Health Risk Assessment of The Levels of Dioxin-Like Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Soils From Mechanic Workshops Within Nekede Mechanic Village, Imo State, Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Chukwuemeka Eze ◽  
Azuka Nwabudike ◽  
Chidi Duru ◽  
Beniah Isiuku ◽  
Francis Ibe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Risk ◽  
Polychlorinated Biphenyls ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Organic Pollutant ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Control Sample ◽  
Sampling Point ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Imo State ◽  
Pet Bottles

Abstract Dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) are a class of persistent toxic substances with a high potential to accumulate in the soil as an organic pollutant and bioaccumulate in humans. The study determined the level and human health risk of twelve (12) DL-PCBs in soils from mechanic workshops within Nekede mechanic village (NMV), Imo State. In this study, soil samples (0–15 cm depth) were collected at four different sampling points within Nekede mechanic village. At each sampling point, composite samples consisting of 10 sub-samples were collected with pre-cleaned pet bottles using soil auger and were labeled SA, SB, SC, SD. Control sample was taken 500 metres away from the mechanic village where there was no form of auto-mechanic activities. Sample analysis was conducted using Agilent GC 6890N coupled with Agilent MS 5970B to determine the levels of DL-PCBs. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. The results revealed that the mean concentration of 12 DL-PCB congeners (Σ12PCBs) in soil ranged from 0.31–16.31 µg kg− 1, which was much higher than that in the control sample (0.006–0.087 µg kg− 1). PCB-126 was the major contributor (58.99%) while the least contributor was PCB-157 (0.0040%) of the Σ12 DL-PCBs TEQ. The estimated LCR (adults 1.29×101, children 4.42×101) and HQs (adults 6.68×102, children 2.29×103) were above the acceptable risk limit (LCR = 10− 4, HQ = 1); indicating a very high adverse effect of DL-PCBs on humans especially children.

scholarly journals Different Approaches for Incorporating Bioaccessibility of Inorganics in Human Health Risk Assessment of Contaminated Soils

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3005
Author(s):  
Daniela Zingaretti ◽  
Renato Baciocchi
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Risk Assessment ◽  
Contaminated Soils ◽  
Total Concentration ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Human Health Risk Assessment ◽  
Acid Extraction ◽  
Inorganic Species

Ingestion of soil represents one of the critical exposure pathways in the human health risk assessment (HHRA) framework at sites contaminated by inorganic species, especially for residential scenarios. HHRA is typically carried out through starting from the so-called “total concentration”, which is estimated from the fraction of inorganic species extracted from the soil using standardized approaches, i.e., microwave acid extraction. Due to the milder conditions, a smaller portion of the inorganics present in the soil is actually dissolved in the gastro-intestinal tract (bioaccessible fraction), and afterward reaches the bloodstream, exerting an effect on human health (bioavailable fraction). Including bioaccessibility in HHRA could then allow for the achievement of a more realistic assessment than using the total concentration. In this paper, the bioaccessible concentration of different inorganics in soil samples collected from a firing range was estimated by applying two in vitro tests, i.e., the Unified Barge Method (UBM) and the Simple Bioaccessibility Extraction Test (SBET). Moreover, different options for incorporating bioaccessibility in HHRA for the estimation of the cleanup goals were also applied and discussed. Despite the notable differences in terms of reagents and procedure between the two methods, the obtained results were quite close, with the SBET method providing slightly higher values. The role of the soil particle size distribution on the calculation of the cleanup goals accounting for bioaccessibility is also discussed.

Study on the Antibiotic Bacterial Residue for the Human Health Risk Assessment

2013 ◽  
Vol 788 ◽  
pp. 476-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xian Lin Meng ◽  
Yang Miao ◽  
Ying Zhu ◽  
Xiao Рong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Risk Assessment ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Human Health Risk Assessment ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Set Up

As antibiotic bacteria residue contains many toxic substances such as antibiotic residues, heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, it was listed as hazardous waste by government. This paper used Analytic Hierarchy Process to set up the evaluating index system and made a quantitative evaluation of those risk factors in the disposal process. It could be concluded that antibiotic bacteria residue and its metabolites were the major environmental risk factors. Furthermore, this paper took the waste of tetracycline for an example, and divided the disposal technologies into two categories (disposal rate of 0% and over 90%) and then made the human health risk assessment according to the procedure of EPA.. As a result, the risk values were lower than the acceptable lever, which showing that the risk of the tetracycline bacterial residue was very small for humanity.

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