Sylvie Rocheleau

Enhanced Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Contaminated Soil

Soil samples taken from a contaminated site in Northern Quebec, Canada, exhibited a low capacity for biodegradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), despite a high capacity for the mineralization of aromatic hydrocarbons and a low toxicity of soil leachates as measured by Microtox assay. Toxicity assays directly performed on surface soil, including earthworm mortality and barley seedling emergence, indicated moderate to high levels of toxicity. Soil biostimulation did not improve the removal of petroleum hydrocarbons, while bioaugmentation of soil with a developed enrichment culture increased the efficiency of hydrocarbon removal from 20.4% to 49.2%. A considerable increase in the removal of TPH was obtained in a bioslurry process, enhancing the mass transfer of hydrocarbons from soil to the aqueous phase and increasing the efficiency of hydrocarbon removal to over 70% after 45 days of incubation. The addition of ionic or nonionic surfactants did not have a significant impact on biodegradation of hydrocarbons. The extent of hydrocarbon mineralization during the bioslurry process after 45 days of incubation ranged from 41.3% to 58.9%, indicating that 62.7% to 83.1% of the eliminated TPH were transformed into CO2 and water.

Toxicity and uptake of cyclic nitramine explosives in ryegrass Lolium perenne

Hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX), and 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) are cyclic nitramines used as explosives. Their ecotoxicities have been characterized incompletely and little is known about their accumulation potential in soil organisms. We assessed the toxicity and uptake of these explosives in perennial ryegrass Lolium perenne L. exposed in a Sassafras sandy loam (SSL) or in a sandy soil (DRDC, CL-20 only) containing contrasting clay contents (11% and 0.3%, respectively). A 21-d exposure to RDX, HMX or CL-20 in either soil had no adverse effects on ryegrass growth. RDX and HMX were translocated to ryegrass shoots, with bioconcentration factors (BCF) of up to 15 and 11, respectively. In contrast, CL-20 was taken up by the roots (BCF up to 19) with no translocation to the shoots. These studies showed that RDX, HMX, and CL-20 can accumulate in plants and may potentially pose a risk of biomagnification across the food chain.

Ecotoxicological Evaluation of a Bench-Scale Bioslurry Treating Explosives-Spiked Soil

The ecotoxicological effects of four bioslurry reactors treating 2,4,6-trinitotoluene (TNT)- and 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (RDX)-spiked soil were evaluated. A control bioslurry reactor was used to assess the endogenous toxicity of the bioslurry operation conditions. A battery of ecotoxicity tests was used: Microtox, green algae growth inhibition, bacterial genotoxicity and mutagenicity, and earthworm mortality and growth inhibition. Bioslurry soluble and solid phases were separated by centrifugation in order to identify toxicity and possible toxicants associated with each phase. Microtox toxicity values were initially very high in both bioslurry reactors spiked with TNT, in relation with TNT concentration. Initial toxicity was also detected by algal growth inhibition, earthworm lethality, genotoxicity and mutagenicity tests. An endogenous toxicity was detected in the control bioreactor using the Microtox and the SOS Chromotest. The soluble phase of the control bioslurry was genotoxic, suggest...

Toxicogenomic effects of nano- and bulk-TiO2 particles in the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract The toxicity and toxicogenomics of selected anatase and rutile nanoparticles (NP) and bulk titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles were evaluated in the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Results indicated that bulk or nano-TiO2 particles were slightly toxic to soil nematode C. elegans, as measured by reproduction EC50 values ranging from 4 to 32 mg/L. Whole-genome microarray results indicated that the regulation of glutathione-S-transferase gst-3, cytochrome P450 cypp33-c11, stress resistance regulator scl-1, oxidoreductase wah-1 and embryonic development pod-2 genes were significantly affected by nano-sized and bulk-TiO2 particles. More specifically, it was determined that anatase particles exerted a greater effect on metabolic pathways, whereas rutile particles had a greater effect on developmental processes. The up-regulation of the pod-2 gene corroborated the phenotypic effect observed in the reproduction test. Our results demonstrated that C. elegans is a good genomic model for nano-TiO2 toxicity assessment.

Toxicity of 2,4-dinitrotoluene to terrestrial plants in natural soils

The presence of energetic materials (used as explosives and propellants) at contaminated sites is a growing international issue, particularly with respect to military base closures and demilitarization policies. Improved understanding of the ecotoxicological effects of these materials is needed in order to accurately assess the potential exposure risks and impacts on the environment and its ecosystems. We studied the toxicity of the nitroaromatic energetic material 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), barnyard grass (Echinochloa crusgalli L. Beauv.), and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) using four natural soils varying in properties (organic matter, clay content, and pH) that were hypothesized to affect chemical bioavailability and toxicity. Amended soils were subjected to natural light conditions, and wetting and drying cycles in a greenhouse for 13 weeks prior to toxicity testing to approximate field exposure conditions in terms of bioavailability, transformation, and degradation of 2,4-DNT. Definitive toxicity tests were performed according to standard protocols. The median effective concentration (EC(50)) values for shoot dry mass ranged from 8 to 229 mg kg(-1), depending on the plant species and soil type. Data indicated that 2,4-DNT was most toxic in the Sassafras (SSL) and Teller (TSL) sandy loam soils, with EC(50) values for shoot dry mass ranging between 8 to 44 mg kg(-1), and least toxic in the Webster clay loam soil, with EC(50) values for shoot dry mass ranging between 40 to 229 mg kg(-1). The toxicity of 2,4-DNT for each of the plant species was significantly (p < or = 0.05) and inversely correlated with the soil organic matter content. Toxicity benchmark values determined in the present studies for 2,4-DNT weathered-and-aged in SSL or TSL soils will contribute to development of an Ecological Soil Screening Level for terrestrial plants that can be used for ecological risk assessment at contaminated sites.

Phytotoxicity and uptake of nitroglycerin in a natural sandy loam soil.

Nitroglycerin (NG) is widely used for the production of explosives and solid propellants, and is a soil contaminant of concern at some military training ranges. NG phytotoxicity data reported in the literature cannot be applied directly to development of ecotoxicological benchmarks for plant exposures in soil because they were determined in studies using hydroponic media, cell cultures, and transgenic plants. Toxicities of NG in the present studies were evaluated for alfalfa (Medicago sativa), barnyard grass (Echinochloa crusgalli), and ryegrass (Lolium perenne) exposed to NG in Sassafras sandy loam soil. Uptake and degradation of NG were also evaluated in ryegrass. The median effective concentration values for shoot growth ranged from 40 to 231 mg kg(-1) in studies with NG freshly amended in soil, and from 23 to 185 mg kg(-1) in studies with NG weathered-and-aged in soil. Weathering-and-aging NG in soil did not significantly affect the toxicity based on 95% confidence intervals for either seedling emergence or plant growth endpoints. Uptake studies revealed that NG was not accumulated in ryegrass but was transformed into dinitroglycerin in the soil and roots, and was subsequently translocated into the ryegrass shoots. The highest bioconcentration factors for dinitroglycerin of 685 and 40 were determined for roots and shoots, respectively. Results of these studies will improve our understanding of toxicity and bioconcentration of NG in terrestrial plants and will contribute to ecological risk assessment of NG-contaminated sites.

Inhibition of soil microbial activity by nitrogen‐based energetic materials

We investigated individual toxicities of the nitrogen-based energetic materials (EMs) 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT); 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene (2-ADNT); 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene (4-ADNT); and nitroglycerin (NG) on microbial activity in Sassafras sandy loam (SSL) soil, which has physicochemical characteristics that support very high qualitative relative bioavailability for organic chemicals. Batches of SSL soil for basal respiration (BR) and substrate-induced respiration (SIR) assays were separately amended with individual EMs or acetone carrier control. Total microbial biomass carbon (biomass C) was determined from CO2 production increases after addition of 2500 mg/kg of glucose-water slurry to the soil. Exposure concentrations of each EM in soil were determined using US Environmental Protection Agency method 8330A. Basal respiration was the most sensitive endpoint for assessing the effects of nitroaromatic EMs on microbial activity in SSL, whereas SIR and biomass C were more sensitive endpoints for assessing the effects of NG in soil. The orders of toxicity (from greatest to least) were 4-ADNT > 2,4-DNT = 2-ADNT > NG for BR; but for SIR and biomass C, the order of toxicity was NG > 2,4-DNT > 2-ADNT = 4-ADNT. No inhibition of SIR was found up to and including the greatest concentration of each ADNT tested in SSL. These ecotoxicological data will be helpful in identifying concentrations of contaminant EMs in soil that present acceptable ecological risks for biologically mediated processes in soil. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:2981-2990. Published 2017 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC.This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.