Biological and chemical contamination of illegal, uncontrolled refuse storage areas in Poland

Justyna Szulc; Joanna Nizioł; Tomasz Ruman; Anna Kuźniar; Adriana Nowak; Małgorzata Okrasa; Ireneusz Nowak; Bogumiła Szponar; Sławomir Kuberski

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.115825

Biological and chemical contamination of illegal, uncontrolled refuse storage areas in Poland

Environ Res. 2023 Jul 1:228:115825. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115825. Epub 2023 Apr 1.

Authors

Justyna Szulc¹, Joanna Nizioł², Tomasz Ruman³, Anna Kuźniar⁴, Adriana Nowak⁵, Małgorzata Okrasa⁶, Ireneusz Nowak⁷, Bogumiła Szponar⁸, Sławomir Kuberski⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Lodz University of Technology, Łódź, 90-530, Poland. Electronic address: justyna.szulc@p.lodz.pl.
² Faculty of Chemistry, Rzeszów University of Technology, Rzeszów, 35-959, Poland. Electronic address: jniziol@prz.edu.
³ Faculty of Chemistry, Rzeszów University of Technology, Rzeszów, 35-959, Poland. Electronic address: tomruman@prz.edu.pl.
⁴ Faculty of Chemistry, Rzeszów University of Technology, Rzeszów, 35-959, Poland. Electronic address: akuzniar@prz.edu.pl.
⁵ Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Lodz University of Technology, Łódź, 90-530, Poland. Electronic address: adriana.nowak@p.lodz.pl.
⁶ Department of Personal Protective Equipment, Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute, Łódź, 90-133, Poland. Electronic address: maokr@ciop.lodz.pl.
⁷ Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Lodz, Kopcinskiego 8/12, Łódź, 90-232, Poland. Electronic address: inowak@wpia.uni.lodz.pl.
⁸ Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, 53-113, Poland. Electronic address: bogumila.szponar@hirszfeld.pl.
⁹ Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Łódź, 93-005, Poland. Electronic address: slawomir.kuberski@p.lodz.pl.

PMID: 37011789
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115825

Abstract

This study focused on assessing the microbiological and chemical contamination of air, soil and leachate in uncontrolled refuse storage areas in central Poland. The research included an analysis of the number of microorganisms (culture method), endotoxin concentration (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry), heavy metals level (atomic absorption spectrometry), elemental characteristics (elemental analyser), cytotoxicity assessment against A-549 (human lung) and Caco-2 (human colon adenocarcinoma) cell lines (PrestoBlue™ test) and toxic compound identification (ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry). Microbial contamination differed depending on the dump and the group of tested microorganisms. The number of bacteria was: 4.3 × 10² - 1.8 × 10³ CFU m^-3 (air); 1.1 × 10³ - 1.2 × 10⁶ CFU mL^-1 (leachate); 1.0 × 10⁶ - 3.9 × 10⁶ CFU g^-1 (soil). Respectively, for air and soil the number of fungi was: 2.2 × 10² - 4.6 × 10² CFU m^-3; 1.8 × 10² - 3.9 × 10³ CFU g^-1. Metal levels (Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, Al, Hg, Cd, Cu, Cr) were higher than in the control sample; however, the average concentrations did not exceed the permissible standards. The cytotoxicity of soil and leachate samples depended on the dump, sample and cell line tested. The leachates were more cytotoxic than soil extracts. Compounds belonging to pesticides, surfactants and biocides, chemicals and/or polymer degradation products, medicinal drugs and insect repellents were found. The detection of potential pathogens in the air, soil and leachate, the presence of toxic compounds and the confirmation of the cytotoxic effect of leachate and soil on human cell lines justify the need for further research on the risks posed by illegal dumps. These studies should aim at developing a unified assessment method and a method to minimise the risk of contaminants spreading in the environment, including harmful biological agents.

Keywords: Cytotoxicity; Harmful biological agents; Heavy metals; Illegal dumps; Metabolome analysis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adenocarcinoma*
Caco-2 Cells
Colonic Neoplasms*
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Humans
Metals, Heavy* / analysis
Metals, Heavy* / toxicity
Poland
Risk Assessment
Soil / chemistry
Soil Pollutants* / analysis
Soil Pollutants* / toxicity

Substances

Soil Pollutants
Metals, Heavy
Soil