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

RAPID：监测俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦火车脱轨后释放毒素的微生物衰减

• 批准号: 2325719
• 负责人: Frank Loeffler
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: University of Tennessee Knoxville
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2325719&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Monitoring; microbial; attenuation; toxins

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.

2023年2月3日，俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦发生一列货运列车脱轨。火车脱轨后，各种危险化学品，包括丙烯酸丁酯（BA）、氯乙烯（VC），以及火车车厢内剩余的 VC 和 BA 的“受控燃烧”产生的燃烧副产品（例如多环芳烃），被释放到附近的土壤、沉积物、地下水含水层和水道中，包括俄亥俄河（俄亥俄河是 为超过500万人提供饮用水。截至 2023 年 5 月 29 日，美国环保署和诺福克南方铁路公司继续 1) 在现场和周边社区进行空气监测，2) 通过挖掘/处置受污染的土壤以及收集/清除受污染的废水来清理脱轨现场。该 RAPID 项目将测试以下假设：在受污染物影响的区域，微生物群落将对毒素的释放表现出可测量的反应，并且这些反应可以告知污染物降解/解毒过程和自然衰减潜力。为了检验这一假设，田纳西大学 (UT) 诺克斯维尔分校的首席研究员 (PI) 和联合研究员以及位于诺克斯维尔 (TN) 的环境咨询公司 Microbial Insights 将从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收集和测试土壤、沉积物和地下水样本。具体来说，该项目团队建议将生物标志物的测量与基于微生物的互补培养工作结合起来，这些微生物已知可以降解东巴勒斯坦火车出轨后释放的化学污染物的类别/类型。该项目的成功完成有可能产生变革性影响，通过产生基础知识来指导和指导东巴勒斯坦脱轨现场和附近社区有效污染物修复解决方案的设计和实施。通过学生教育和培训，包括指导 UT 诺克斯维尔分校的一名研究生和三名本科生，将给社会带来额外的好处。东巴勒斯坦火车出轨后，多种危险化学品，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）、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，对于东巴勒斯坦事故三个月后释放到环境中的危险化学品的归宿和变化进行的基础调查还很有限。该 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，并且这些反应可以了解东巴勒斯坦事故现场以及附近土壤、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。该研究的具体目标是 1) 对受影响和未受影响（背景）区域的土壤、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、其动态及其响应污染的活动进行定量跟踪，3) 设计并进行有针对性的微观可处理性研究，以证明本土微生物对污染物的降解作用 微生物，4) 综合收集到的信息和研究结果，以指导和指导特定地点监测计划的设计。拟议研究的成功完成有可能产生变革性影响，通过生成新数据和基础知识来指导针对现场的监测方案的设计和实施，这些方案可以全面评估东巴勒斯坦现场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 NSF 的法定使命，并被认为值得通过以下方式获得支持： 使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。