Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released along with soil disturbance during the remediation of abandoned industrial sites have attracted great attention due to their possible toxicity and odour. However, the real-time emission characteristics of these VOCs and their subsequent effects on health and olfaction are less understood. In this study, the gaseous VOCs released from soil disturbance by excavators and drilling rigs at an abandoned chemical pesticide plant were monitored online with a laboratory-built single photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (SPI-TOFMS). Twelve main VOCs with total mean concentrations ranging from 2350 to 3410 μg m−3 were observed, with dichloromethane (DCM) having a significant contribution. The total concentrations of the remaining 11 VOCs increased substantially during soil disturbance, with the total mean concentrations increasing from 18.65–39.05 to 37.95–297.94 μg m−3 and those of peak concentrations increasing from 28.46–58.97 to 88.38–839.13 μg m−3. This increase in VOC concentrations during soil disturbance leads to an enhanced heath risk for on-site workers. The distinctive difference between the mean and peak concentrations of VOCs indicates the importance of using mean and peak concentrations, respectively, for risk and olfactory evaluation due to the rapid response of the human nose to odours. As a result, the cumulative noncarcinogenic risk at the relatively high pollutant plot was higher than the occupational safety limit, while the total carcinogenic risks at all monitored scenarios exceeded the acceptable limit. Among the VOCs investigated, DCM and trichloroethylene (TCE) were determined to be crucial pollutants for both noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of VOCs. With regard to olfactory effects, organic sulphides, including dimethyl disulphide (DMDS), dimethyl sulphide (DMS), and dimethyl trisulphide (DMTS) were identified as dominant odour contributors (78.28–92.11%) during soil disturbance.
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The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFC1806101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 22076184), and the Research Equipment Development Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (YJKYYQ20180072).
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All the authors contributed to the study conception and design. Methodology, data collection and analysis, and writing–review and editing were performed by Haijie Wang and Bo Yang. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Bo Yang. Methodology, material preparation, and investigation were performed by Zitao Yan, Zuojian Zhang, Kui Jiang, Jin Yu, Yong Yang, Bo Yang, Jinian Shu, Zhangqi Yu, and Zhiyang Wei and all the authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Wang, H., Yan, Z., Zhang, Z. et al. Real-time emission characteristics, health risks, and olfactory effects of VOCs released from soil disturbance during the remediation of an abandoned chemical pesticide industrial site. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 93617–93628 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28942-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28942-7