RAPID: Monitoring microbial attenuation of toxins released following the East Palestine train derailment in Ohio

2023年2月3日，俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦发生货运列车脱轨事故。火车脱轨后，各种有害化学物质，包括丙烯酸丁酯（BA）、氯乙烯（VC）和燃烧副产物（如多环芳烃），从车厢内剩余的VC和BA的“受控燃烧”中释放到附近的土壤、沉积物、地下水含水层和水道中，包括俄亥俄河，这条河是500多万人的饮用水来源。截至2023年5月29日，环保署和诺福克南方公司继续1)在现场和周围社区进行空气监测，2)通过挖掘/处理受污染的土壤和收集/去除受污染的废水来清理脱轨现场。这个RAPID项目将测试一个假设，即在受污染物影响的地区，微生物群落将对毒素的释放表现出可测量的反应，这些反应可以告知污染物降解/解毒过程和自然衰减潜力。为了验证这一假设，来自田纳西大学诺克斯维尔分校（UT）和诺克斯维尔环境咨询公司微生物见解（TN）的首席研究员（PI）和共同调查员将收集和测试受影响地区和未受东巴勒斯坦事故期间释放的污染物影响的地区的土壤，沉积物和地下水样本。具体而言，项目团队建议将生物标记物的测量与微生物的互补培养相结合，这些微生物已知可以降解东巴勒斯坦火车脱轨后释放的化学污染物的类别/类型。这个项目的成功完成有可能产生变革性的影响，因为它产生了基本知识，为在东巴勒斯坦脱轨地点和附近社区设计和实施有效的污染物补救办法提供指导和信息。通过学生教育和培训，包括UT诺克斯维尔的一名研究生和三名本科生的指导，将为社会带来额外的好处。在东巴勒斯坦火车脱轨之后，各种有害化学物质，包括氯乙烯、丙烯酸丁酯、其他挥发性和半挥发性有机化合物（VOCs和SVOCs）和多环芳烃（PAHs）等被释放到附近的土壤、沉积物、地下水含水层和包括俄亥俄河在内的水道中。然而，迄今为止，对在东巴勒斯坦事故发生三个月后释放到环境中的危险化学品的命运和变化进行了有限的基本调查。RAPID项目的总体目标是确定受影响地区的微生物群落将表现出可测量的反应，并且这些反应可以为东巴勒斯坦事故现场及其附近土壤、沉积物、地下水含水层和水道的污染物降解/解毒过程和自然衰减潜力提供信息。该研究的具体目标是：1)对受影响和未受影响（背景）地区的土壤、沉积物和地下水进行时间序列采样；2)对污染物降解微生物、它们的动力学和它们对污染的响应活动进行定量跟踪；3)设计并进行有针对性的微观世界可处理性研究，以证明本地微生物对污染物的降解作用。4)综合收集到的信息和研究成果，指导和指导现场监测方案的设计。拟议研究的成功完成有可能产生变革性影响，产生新的数据和基本知识，以指导设计和实施适合现场的监测方案，从而全面评估东巴勒斯坦场址和附近社区本地微生物组的自然衰减和污染物降解/解毒潜力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

On February 3rd, 2023, a freight train derailment occurred in East Palestine in the State of Ohio. Following the train derailment, various hazardous chemicals, including butyl acrylate (BA), vinyl chloride (VC), and combustion by-products (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) from a ‘controlled burn’ of the remaining VC and BA in the train cars, were released into nearby soils, sediments, groundwater aquifer, and waterways including the Ohio River which serves a source of drinking water for more than 5 million people. As of May 29, 2023, EPA and Norfolk Southern continue to 1) conduct air monitoring onsite and in the surrounding communities and 2) clean up the derailment site by excavating/disposing of contaminated soils and collecting/removing contaminated wastewater. This RAPID project will test the hypothesis that in contaminant-impacted areas, microbial communities will show measurable responses to the release of toxins, and that these responses could inform about contaminant degradation/detoxification processes and natural attenuation potential. To test this hypothesis, the Principal Investigator (PI) and co-investigators from the University of Tennessee (UT) Knoxville and the environmental consulting company Microbial Insights in Knoxville (TN) will collect and test soil, sediment, and groundwater samples from impacted areas and those not impacted by pollutants released during the East Palestine accident. Specifically, the project team proposes to combine measurements of biomarkers with complementary cultivation-based efforts of microorganisms that are known to degrade the classes/types of chemical pollutants that were released following the East Palestine train derailment. The successful completion of this project has the potential for transformative impact through the generation of fundamental knowledge to guide and inform the design and implementation of effective pollutant remediation solutions at the East Palestine derailment site and in nearby communities. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including the mentoring of one graduate student and three undergraduate students at UT Knoxville. Following the East Palestine train derailment, various hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, other volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs and SVOCs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), etc. were released into nearby soils, sediments, groundwater aquifer, and waterways including the Ohio River. However, to date, there has been limited fundamental investigations of the fate and transformations of the hazardous chemicals that were released into the environment three months after the East Palestine accident. The overarching goal of this RAPID project is to establish that microbial communities in impacted areas will show measurable responses, and that these responses could inform about contaminant degradation/detoxification processes and natural attenuation potential at the East Palestine accident site and in nearby soils, sediments, groundwater aquifer, and waterways. The specific objectives of the research are to 1) carry out time-series sampling of soils, sediments, and groundwater in impacted and non-impacted (background) areas, 2) conduct quantitative tracking of contaminant-degrading microorganisms, their dynamics, and their activities in response to the contamination, 3) design and conduct a targeted microcosm treatability study that demonstrates degradation of contaminants by indigenous microorganisms, and 4) synthesize the collected information and research findings to guide and inform the design of a site-specific monitoring program. The successful completion of the proposed research has the potential for transformative impact through the generation of new data and fundamental knowledge to guide the design and implementation of site-tailored monitoring protocols that could comprehensively assess the natural attenuation and contaminant degradation/detoxification potentials of indigenous microbiomes at the East Palestine site and in nearby communities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.