RAPID: Elucidating the fate of VOCs and SVOCs in drinking water wells and household water plumbing systems following the East Palestine chemical accident

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事故。列车脱轨后，各种危险化学品，包括挥发性有机化合物(VOC)和半挥发性有机化合物(SVOC)，如氯乙烯(VC)和丙烯酸丁酯(BA)，以及列车车厢内剩余的VC和BA的燃烧副产品(如多环芳烃)被释放到附近的土壤、沉积物、地下水和水道中，包括作为500多万人饮用水来源的俄亥俄河。该项目调查人员(普渡团队)进行的初步现场化学分析显示，在污染严重的小溪中也发现了各种未经应急人员测试潜在污染的化学物质，这些小溪与大约100口私人饮用水水井接壤，这些水井位于东巴勒斯坦火车脱轨地点半径2英里内。在对选定的东巴勒斯坦私人水井和家用饮用水系统进行现场检查期间，普渡团队还记录了水井套管和由高密度聚乙烯(HDPE)和交联型聚乙烯(PEX)组成的建筑管道系统的使用情况，众所周知，这些物质可以渗透和/或积累VOCs和/或SVOCs。这一快速项目将收集和分析地表水、地下水和家庭饮用水系统中的短暂水样，目的是表征和了解在东巴勒斯坦火车脱轨现场和附近社区的家庭供水系统的HDPE/PEX管道表面形成的VOCs/SVOCs在管道系统和生物膜中释放的命运。该项目的成功完成有可能产生变革性的影响，因为它产生了新的数据和基本知识，以指导和指导为东巴勒斯坦火车脱轨地点和附近社区的家庭供水系统设计和实施有效的补救解决方案。还将通过学生教育和培训，包括指导普渡大学的两名研究生，为社会带来更多好处。塑料给水管道材料表面生物膜的形成和生长对供水系统的水质和安全有重要影响。俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦列车脱轨过程中挥发性有机化合物(VOCs)和半挥发性有机化合物(SVOCs)的释放为对这些污染物在塑料管道材料中的去向及其表面形成的生物膜进行基础调查提供了一个独特的、具有时间敏感性的机会。这个快速项目将测试以下假设：1)家用自来水系统中聚乙烯(PE)管道表面形成的生物膜将吸收(积累)受污染井水中的SVOCs，而VOCs将通过生物膜渗透(扩散)到下面的PE聚合物基质中；2)这些生物膜对污染物的解吸(释放)将比原始PE表面慢，以及3)生物膜坍塌可能会导致严重的高污染物暴露。研究的具体目标是1)使用气相色谱(GC)-质谱仪(MS)和质子转移共振(PTR)-飞行时间(TOF)-MS表征巴勒斯坦东部化学事故现场严重污染的溪水样本，以识别和选择用于后续测试的目标VOCs/SVOCs，2)测量选定的VOCs/SVOCs在新的/原始的高密度聚乙烯(HDPE)树脂颗粒和管道中的扩散(D)和溶解(K)系数，3)利用不同井口的水，测量所选VOCs/SVOCs在生物膜HDPE树脂颗粒和管道中的扩散系数(D)和溶解度系数(K)。这项研究的成功完成有可能产生变革性的影响，方法是产生关于VOCs/SVOCs命运的新数据和基本知识，这些VOCs/SVOCs积累在受东巴勒斯坦化学品泄漏事故影响的HDPE管道系统和家用水系统的生物膜中。这个快速项目产生的新数据和知识可以使受影响的家庭了解他们的水系统的污染程度，并设计/实施有效的补救解决方案。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) such as vinyl chloride (VC) and butyl acrylate (BA), 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 as a source of drinking water for more than 5 million people. Preliminary onsite chemical analyses by the investigators of this project (Purdue Team) showed that a variety of chemicals not tested for potential contamination by the responders were also found in heavily contaminated creeks, which are bordered by about 100 private drinking water wells located within a 2-mile radius of the East Palestine train derailment site. During their onsite inspection of selected East Palestine private wells and household drinking water systems, the Purdue Team also documented the use of well casings and building plumbing systems consisting of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and crosslinked polyethylene (PEX), which are known to permeate and/or accumulate VOCs and/or SVOCs. This RAPID project will collect and analyze ephemeral water samples from surface water, groundwater, and household drinking water systems with the goal of characterizing and understanding the fate of the released VOCs/SVOCs within the plumbing systems and biofilms that form at the surfaces of HDPE/PEX pipes of household water systems in the East Palestine train derailment site and nearby communities. The successful completion of this project has the potential for transformative impact through the generation of new data and fundamental knowledge to guide and inform the design and implementation of effective remediation solutions for household water systems in the East Palestine train derailment site and nearby communities. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including the mentoring of two graduate students at Purdue University. The formation and growth of biofilms on the surfaces of plastic plumbing materials have a major impact on water quality and safety in drinking water distribution systems. The release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) during the East Palestine train derailment in Ohio provides a unique and time-sensitive opportunity to carry out fundamental investigations of the fate of these contaminants in plastic plumbing materials and the biofilms that form at their surfaces. This RAPID project will test the hypotheses that 1) that biofilms formed at the surfaces of polyethylene (PE) plumbing pipes in household water systems will sorb (accumulate) SVOCs in contaminated well water while the VOCs will permeate (diffuse) through the biofilms into the underlying PE polymer substrates, 2) contaminant desorption (release) from these biofilms will be slower than that from pristine PE surfaces, and 3) biofilm sloughing could cause acute incidences of high contaminant exposure. The specific objectives of the research are to 1) characterize heavily contaminated samples of creek water at the East Palestine chemical accident site using gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) and proton transfer resonance (PTR)-time of flight (TOF)-MS to identify and select target VOCs/SVOCs for subsequent testing, 2) measure the diffusion (D) and solubility (K) coefficients of the selected VOCs/SVOCs in new/pristine high-density polyethylene (HDPE) resin pellets and pipes, and 3) measure the diffusion (D) and solubility (K) coefficients of the selected VOCs/SVOCs in biofilm-coated HDPE resin pellets and pipes using water from different impacted wells. The successful completion of this research has the potential for transformative impact through the generation of new data and fundamental knowledge on the fate of VOCs/SVOCs that accumulate in the HDPE plumbing systems and biofilms of household water systems that have been impacted by the East Palestine chemical spill accident. The new data and knowledge generated from this RAPID project could enable affected households to understand the extent of contamination of their water systems and design/implement effective remediation solutions.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.