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Chen Y, Fan Y, Huang Y, Liao X, Xu W, Zhang T. A comprehensive review of toxicity of coal fly ash and its leachate in the ecosystem. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2024; 269:115905. [PMID: 38171230 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2023] [Revised: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Coal fly ash (CFA), a byproduct of coal combustion, is a hazardous industrial solid waste. Its excessive global production, coupled with improper disposal practices, insufficient utilization and limited awareness of its inherent hazards, poses a significant threat to both ecological environment and human health. Based on the physicochemical properties of CFA and its leachates, we elucidate the forms of CFA and potential pathways for its entry into the human body, as well as the leaching behavior, maximum tolerance and biological half-life of toxic elements present in CFA. Furthermore, we provide an overview of current strategies and methods for mitigating the leaching of these harmful elements from CFA. Moreover, we systemically summarize toxic effect of CFA on organisms across various tiers of complexity, analyze epidemiological findings concerning the human health implications resulting from CFA exposure, and delve into the biotoxicological mechanisms of CFA and its leachates at cellular and molecular levels. This review aims to enhance understanding of the potential toxicity of CFA, thereby promoting increased public awareness regarding the disposal and management of this industrial waste.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Chen
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nano/Micro Composite Material and Device, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China; Chongqing Engineering Laboratory of Nano/Micro Biomedical Detection, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
| | - Yingjie Fan
- Chongqing Research Center for Jialing River Development, Institute of Intelligent Manufacturing and Automotive, Chongqing Technology and Business Institute, Chongqing 401520, China
| | - Yu Huang
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nano/Micro Composite Material and Device, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China; Chongqing Engineering Laboratory of Nano/Micro Biomedical Detection, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
| | - Xiaoling Liao
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nano/Micro Composite Material and Device, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China; Chongqing Engineering Laboratory of Nano/Micro Biomedical Detection, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
| | - Wenfeng Xu
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nano/Micro Composite Material and Device, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China; Chongqing Engineering Laboratory of Nano/Micro Biomedical Detection, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China.
| | - Tao Zhang
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Nano/Micro Composite Material and Device, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China; Chongqing Engineering Laboratory of Nano/Micro Biomedical Detection, School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing 401331, China; Key Laboratory for Biorheological Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Vascular Implants, Bioengineering College of Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China; JINSHAN Science & Technology (Group) Co., Ltd., Chongqing 401120, China.
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Chen PW, Kuo TC, Liu ZS, Lu HF. Assessment of the mutagenicity of two common indoor air pollutants, formaldehyde and toluene. INDOOR AIR 2021; 31:1353-1363. [PMID: 33818839 DOI: 10.1111/ina.12832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Traditionally, direct-reading instruments have been used to directly determine the concentrations of indoor air pollutants that may exceed the regulation limits. However, these instruments cannot directly assess the potential health hazards of these pollutants to humans. In this study, we developed and improved a bacterial reverse mutation assay (Ames test) by using a direct gas exposure module to directly determine the mutagenicity of indoor air quality using five tester bacterial strains (TA98, TA100, TA102, TA1535, and TA1537). Thereafter, the module was used to evaluate the effects of exposure time, different concentrations of HCHO or toluene, and mutagenic activities. We found that TA100 was the most sensitive strain and was reverted by relatively lower concentrations of 0.035 ppm HCHO. Furthermore, 50 ppm of toluene exposures caused a significant increase in the number of revertant colonies of TA100 without S9 activation at the 1.5-8-h exposure time intervals. Our findings provide new evidence that gaseous HCHO exposure could display weak but direct, time-dependent, and dose-dependent mutagenic activities. The weak, direct-acting, indirect-acting, and time-dependent mutagen of 50 ppm toluene was also confirmed. Moreover, our improved Ames module and the exposure conditions provided in this study can be further applied to evaluate the mutagenicity of indoor air quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Po-Wen Chen
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Tai-Chen Kuo
- Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Zhen-Shu Liu
- Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City, Taiwan
- Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion Research Center, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Chiayi, Taiwan
- Center for Environmental Sustainability and Human Health, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Fu Lu
- Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City, Taiwan
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Solidification and Biotoxicity Assessment of Thermally Treated Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) Fly Ash. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2017; 14:ijerph14060626. [PMID: 28604580 PMCID: PMC5486312 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14060626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2017] [Revised: 05/27/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In the present work, thermal treatment was used to stabilize municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash, which was considered hazardous waste. Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) results indicated that, after the thermal process, the leaching concentrations of Pb, Cu, and Zn decreased from 8.08 to 0.16 mg/L, 0.12 to 0.017 mg/L and 0.39 to 0.1 mg/L, respectively, which well met the limits in GB5085.3-2007 and GB16689-2008. Thermal treatment showed a negative effect on the leachability of Cr with concentrations increasing from 0.1 to 1.28 mg/L; nevertheless, it was still under the limitations. XRD analysis suggested that, after thermal treatments, CaO was newly generated. CaO was a main contribution to higher Cr leaching concentrations owing to the formation of Cr (VI)—compounds such as CaCrO4. SEM/EDS tests revealed that particle adhesion, agglomeration, and grain growth happened during the thermal process and thus diminished the leachability of Pb, Cu, and Zn, but these processes had no significant influence on the leaching of Cr. A microbial assay demonstrated that all thermally treated samples yet possessed strong bactericidal activity according to optical density (OD) test results. Among all samples, the OD value of raw fly ash (RFA) was lowest followed by FA700-10, FA900-10, and FA1100-10 in an increasing order, which indicated that the sequence of the biotoxicity for these samples was RFA > FA700-10 > FA900-10 > FA1100-10. This preliminary study indicated that, apart from TCLP criteria, the biotoxicity assessment was indispensable for evaluating the effect of thermal treatment for MSWI fly ash.
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