Chemical characterization and ecotoxicity of three soil foaming agents used in mechanized tunneling.
The construction of tunnels and rocks with mechanized drills produces several tons of rocky debris that are today recycled as construction material or as soil replacement for covering rocky areas. The lack of accurate information about the environmental impact of these excavated rocks and foaming agents added during the excavation process has aroused increasing concern for ecosystems and human health. The present study proposes an integrated approach to the assessment of the potential environmental impact of three foaming agents containing different anionic surfactants and other polymers currently on the market and used in tunnel boring machines. The strategy includes chemical characterization with high resolution mass spectrometry techniques to identify the components of each product, the use of in silico tools to perform a similarity comparison among these compounds and some pollutants already listed in regulatory frameworks to identify possible threshold concentrations of contamination, and the application of a battery of ecotoxicological assays to investigate the impact of each foaming mixture on model organisms of soil (higher plants and Eisenia andrei) and water communities (Daphnia magna). The study identified eleven compounds not listed on the material safety data sheets for which we have identified possible concentrations of contamination based on existing regulatory references. The bioassays allowed us to determine the no effect concentrations (NOAECs) of the three mixtures, which were subsequently used as threshold concentration for the product in its entirety. The technical mixtures used in this study have a different degree of toxicity and the predicted environmental concentrations based on the conditions of use are lower than the NOAEC for soils but higher than the NOAEC for water, posing a potential risk to the waters due to the levels of foaming agents in the muck.
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy. Electronic address: diego.baderna@marionegri.it.
Diego
D
Baderna
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Eleonora
E
Lomazzi
Unit of Analytical Instrumentation, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Alice
A
Passoni
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Alberto
A
Pogliaghi
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Maria Ifigeneia
MI
Petoumenou
Unit of Analytical Instrumentation, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Renzo
R
Bagnati
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Marco
M
Lodi
Department of Sciences and Technological Innovation (DiSIT), University of Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro", 15121 Alessandria, Italy.
Aldo
A
Viarengo
Department of Sciences and Technological Innovation (DiSIT), University of Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro", 15121 Alessandria, Italy.
Susanna
S
Sforzini
Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Emilio
E
Benfenati
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via Giuseppe La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Roberto
R
Fanelli
D000818:Animals; D060389:Construction Industry; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D018553:Cucumis sativus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D003621:Daphnia / Q000187:drug effects; D054750:Ecotoxicology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D031220:Lepidium sativum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D019055:No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D045868:Sorghum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D023382:Toxicity Tests, Acute; D036401:Toxicity Tests, Chronic
D012989:Soil Pollutants
Environmental toxicology; Phytotest; Soil conditioning agents; Tunneling