Insights into a 20-ha multi-contaminated brownfield megasite: An environmental forensics approach

Gallego, J.R.; Rodríguez-Valdés, Eduardo; Esquinas, N.; Fernández-Braña, A.; Afif, E.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.09.153

Cited by 40 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…This long and extensive activity has impacted environmental compartments, as evidenced in previous studies, e.g. PTEs in urban air [46], soils [10] and groundwater [7], and the presence of a number of abandoned brownfields in the area [22].…”

Section: Study Area and Sampling Strategymentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Potential soil pollution in the area of Langreo and also in specific brownfields has been previously addressed at various scales [9,10,22]. It has been concluded that soils of the zone present significant pollution by Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs), in particular As, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn in Langreo itself [9] and the neighbouring area [26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benzo[a]pyrene sourcing and abundance in a coal region in transition reveals historical pollution, rendering soil screening levels impractical

Boente

Baragaño

Gallego

2020

Environmental Pollution

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found pervasively in various environmental compartments, such as soils, water, air and sediments [2, 13, 68]. In this regard, several studies have demonstrated that the number of humans exposed to PAHs through soils is higher than through air or water [45, 51, 73]. Given that these compounds are carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic and toxic to all living organisms, there is a need to monitor their concentration in soils [6, 56]. PAHs are listed as priority pollutants by the European Union and the United States Environmental Protection Agency [14, 20, 55], and they are becoming increasingly studied and tracked in soils worldwide [1, 11, 23, 64]. PAHs are often divided into 16 priority compounds. Among them, benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is one of the most hazardous because of its carcinogenic and mutagenic properties and its persistence and bioaccumulation in the environment [66, 78]. Consequently, the European Union established in 2004 an atmospheric target value of 1 ng/m 3 for BaP [18]. Regarding soils, Spanish legislation set out Risk-Based Soil Screening Levels (RBSSLs) for organic contaminants, based on toxicity parameters and land use. In this regard, these limits for BaP in soils are: 2 mg•kg − 1 for industrial use; 0.2 mg•kg − 1 for urban use; and 0.02 mg•kg − 1 for other uses (those that are neither urban nor industrial and that are suitable for agricultural, forestry and livestock-raising activities as defined in [62]). PAHs can be natural or anthropogenic. Natural sources comprise incomplete natural combustion of carbon-containing fuel such as coal or wood (wildfires), or even volcanic eruptions and petroleum input in oil seeps [76]. On the other hand, energy production, industrial emissions, waste incineration, car exhausts, and biomass burning are common examples of anthropogenic sources [15, 74]. Another remarkable source of PAHs is coal mining since this activity involves the massive use of this fossil fuel for energy production in power stations and also coal waste accumulation and coal processing, which have also led to soil pollution by PAHs around the world [29, 30, 52]. Sources of PAHs can be studied using specific molecular ratios [33, 73]. In addition, multivariate statistical methods, such as hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), can unravel relationships between inorganic and organic pollutants [47, 70]. Finally, geostatistical methods (e.g. kriging, inverse-distance weighting (IDW)) allow the characterization and

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Section: Study Area and Sampling Strategymentioning

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benzo[a]pyrene sourcing and abundance in a coal region in transition reveals historical pollution, rendering soil screening levels impractical

Boente

Baragaño

Gallego

2020

Environmental Pollution

Self Cite

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“…In Asturias (northeastern Spain), several areas are contaminated with arsenic as a result of recent industrial (chemical, metallurgical, and siderurgical) dismantling. A representative example of a large-scale contaminated site is Nitrastur, a highly contaminated abandoned fertilizer industrial site located in the municipality of Langreo (20). The main waste found at this site that affects soil quality is pyrite ashes, composed largely of iron oxides and hydroxides, and other metal(loid)s that were produced as by-products of roasting sulfur ores.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Endophytic and Rhizosphere Bacteria To Improve Phytoremediation of Arsenic-Contaminated Industrial Soils by Autochthonous Betula celtiberica

Mesa

Navazas

González-Gil

et al. 2017

Appl Environ Microbiol

115

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The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of indigenous arsenic-tolerant bacteria to enhance arsenic phytoremediation by the autochthonous pseudometallophyte The first goal was to perform an initial analysis of the entire rhizosphere and endophytic bacterial communities of the above-named accumulator plant, including the cultivable bacterial species.'s microbiome was dominated by taxa related to ,, and , especially the and genera. A total of 54 cultivable rhizobacteria and 41 root endophytes, mainly affiliated with the phyla, ,, and , were isolated and characterized with respect to several potentially useful features for metal plant accumulation, such as the ability to promote plant growth, metal chelation, and/or mitigation of heavy-metal stress. Seven bacterial isolates were further selected and tested for accumulation of arsenic in plants; four of them were finally assayed in field-scale bioaugmentation experiments. The exposure to arsenic caused an increase in the total nonprotein thiol compound content in roots, suggesting a detoxification mechanism through phytochelatin complexation. In the contaminated field, the siderophore and indole-3-acetic acid producers of the endophytic bacterial consortium enhanced arsenic accumulation in the leaves and roots of , whereas the rhizosphere isolate strain 91R mainly promoted plant growth. Field experimentation showed that additional factors, such as soil arsenic content and pH, influenced arsenic uptake in the plant, attesting to the relevance of field conditions in the success of phytoextraction strategies. Microorganisms and plants have developed several ways of dealing with arsenic, allowing them to resist and metabolize this metalloid. These properties form the basis of phytoremediation treatments and the understanding that the interactions of plants with soil bacteria are crucial for the optimization of arsenic uptake. To address this in our work, we initially performed a microbiome analysis of the autochthonous plants growing in arsenic-contaminated soils, including endosphere and rhizosphere bacterial communities. We then proceeded to isolate and characterize the cultivable bacteria that were potentially better suited to enhance phytoextraction efficiency. Eventually, we went to the field application stage. Our results corroborated the idea that recovery of pseudometallophyte-associated bacteria adapted to a large historically contaminated site and their use in bioaugmentation technologies are affordable experimental approaches and potentially very useful for implementing effective phytoremediation strategies with plants and their indigenous bacteria.

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“…The study site, known as Nitrastur, was one of the main fertilizer plants in Spain until its closure in 1997. The presence of pollutants, such as arsenic, copper, lead and zinc, in soils and groundwater was caused by the use of different waste products as landfill over the quaternary alluvial plain (Gallego et al, 2016). The main waste, pyrite ash, was produced in large amounts by the roasting of sulfide minerals in the sulfuric acid production line of the fertilizer plant.…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of in situ Remediation With Nanoscale Zero Valence Iron on the Physicochemical Conditions and Bacterial Communities of Groundwater Contaminated With Arsenic

et al. 2021

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Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron (nZVI) is a cost-effective nanomaterial that is widely used to remove a broad range of metal(loid)s and organic contaminants from soil and groundwater. In some cases, this material alters the taxonomic and functional composition of the bacterial communities present in these matrices; however, there is no conclusive data that can be generalized to all scenarios. Here we studied the effect of nZVI application in situ on groundwater from the site of an abandoned fertilizer factory in Asturias, Spain, mainly polluted with arsenic (As). The geochemical characteristics of the water correspond to a microaerophilic and oligotrophic environment. Physico-chemical and microbiological (cultured and total bacterial diversity) parameters were monitored before and after nZVI application over six months. nZVI treatment led to a marked increase in Fe(II) concentration and a notable fall in the oxidation-reduction potential during the first month of treatment. A substantial decrease in the concentration of As during the first days of treatment was observed, although strong fluctuations were subsequently detected in most of the wells throughout the six-month experiment. The possible toxic effects of nZVI on groundwater bacteria could not be clearly determined from direct observation of those bacteria after staining with viability dyes. The number of cultured bacteria increased during the first two weeks of the treatment, although this was followed by a continuous decrease for the following two weeks, reaching levels moderately below the initial number at the end of sampling, and by changes in their taxonomic composition. Most bacteria were tolerant to high As(V) concentrations and showed the presence of diverse As resistance genes. A more complete study of the structure and diversity of the bacterial community in the groundwater using automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) and sequencing of the 16S rRNA amplicons by Illumina confirmed significant alterations in its composition, with a reduction in richness and diversity (the latter evidenced by Illumina data) after treatment with nZVI. The anaerobic conditions stimulated by treatment favored the development of sulfate-reducing bacteria, thereby opening up the possibility to achieve more efficient removal of As.

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Insights into a 20-ha multi-contaminated brownfield megasite: An environmental forensics approach

Cited by 40 publications

References 37 publications

Benzo[a]pyrene sourcing and abundance in a coal region in transition reveals historical pollution, rendering soil screening levels impractical

Benzo[a]pyrene sourcing and abundance in a coal region in transition reveals historical pollution, rendering soil screening levels impractical

Use of Endophytic and Rhizosphere Bacteria To Improve Phytoremediation of Arsenic-Contaminated Industrial Soils by Autochthonous Betula celtiberica

Effects of in situ Remediation With Nanoscale Zero Valence Iron on the Physicochemical Conditions and Bacterial Communities of Groundwater Contaminated With Arsenic

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