National Engineering Laboratory for VOCs Pollution Control Material & Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 101408, People's Republic of China.
China State Science Dingshi Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd, Beijing, 100102, People's Republic of China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Sep;30(41):93617-93628. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-28942-7. Epub 2023 Jul 29.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released along with soil disturbance during the remediation of abandoned industrial sites have attracted great attention due to their possible toxicity and odour. However, the real-time emission characteristics of these VOCs and their subsequent effects on health and olfaction are less understood. In this study, the gaseous VOCs released from soil disturbance by excavators and drilling rigs at an abandoned chemical pesticide plant were monitored online with a laboratory-built single photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (SPI-TOFMS). Twelve main VOCs with total mean concentrations ranging from 2350 to 3410 μg m were observed, with dichloromethane (DCM) having a significant contribution. The total concentrations of the remaining 11 VOCs increased substantially during soil disturbance, with the total mean concentrations increasing from 18.65-39.05 to 37.95-297.94 μg m and those of peak concentrations increasing from 28.46-58.97 to 88.38-839.13 μg m. This increase in VOC concentrations during soil disturbance leads to an enhanced heath risk for on-site workers. The distinctive difference between the mean and peak concentrations of VOCs indicates the importance of using mean and peak concentrations, respectively, for risk and olfactory evaluation due to the rapid response of the human nose to odours. As a result, the cumulative noncarcinogenic risk at the relatively high pollutant plot was higher than the occupational safety limit, while the total carcinogenic risks at all monitored scenarios exceeded the acceptable limit. Among the VOCs investigated, DCM and trichloroethylene (TCE) were determined to be crucial pollutants for both noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks of VOCs. With regard to olfactory effects, organic sulphides, including dimethyl disulphide (DMDS), dimethyl sulphide (DMS), and dimethyl trisulphide (DMTS) were identified as dominant odour contributors (78.28-92.11%) during soil disturbance.
挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）在废弃工业场地修复过程中随土壤扰动而释放，由于其潜在毒性和气味而受到极大关注。然而，这些 VOC 的实时排放特征及其对健康和嗅觉的后续影响了解较少。在这项研究中，使用实验室构建的单光离子化时间飞行质谱仪（SPI-TOFMS）在线监测了挖掘机和钻机在废弃化学农药厂进行土壤扰动时释放的气态 VOCs。共检测到 12 种主要 VOC，总平均浓度范围为 2350 至 3410μg/m，其中二氯甲烷（DCM）的贡献显著。在土壤扰动过程中，其余 11 种 VOC 的总浓度大幅增加，总平均浓度从 18.65-39.05 增加到 37.95-297.94μg/m，峰值浓度从 28.46-58.97 增加到 88.38-839.13μg/m。土壤扰动过程中 VOC 浓度的增加导致现场工人的健康风险增加。VOC 浓度的平均值和峰值之间的显著差异表明，由于人类嗅觉对气味的快速反应，分别使用平均值和峰值来进行风险和嗅觉评估非常重要。因此，在相对高污染区域，非致癌风险的累积值高于职业安全限值，而在所有监测场景下，总致癌风险均超过可接受限值。在所研究的 VOC 中，DCM 和三氯乙烯（TCE）被确定为 VOC 的非致癌和致癌风险的关键污染物。就嗅觉影响而言，包括二甲基二硫（DMDS）、二甲基硫（DMS）和二甲基三硫（DMTS）在内的有机硫化物被确定为土壤扰动过程中主要的气味贡献者（78.28-92.11%）。
