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

RAPID：阐明东巴勒斯坦化学事故后饮用水井和家庭供水管道系统中 VOC 和 SVOC 的归宿

• 批准号: 2327139
• 负责人: Andrew Whelton
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Purdue University
• 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: 2023-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2327139&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Elucidating; fate; VOCs; SVOCs

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.

2023年2月3日，俄亥俄州的东巴勒斯坦发生了货运火车出轨。 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 acrylic (BA), and combination by-products (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) from a ‘controlled burn’ of the remaining VC and BA in the train cars, were released into在土壤，沉积物，地下水含水层和水道附近，包括俄亥俄河，是超过500万人的饮用水来源。该项目的研究人员（普渡团队）的初步现场化学分析表明，在受污染的小溪中还发现了各种未对响应者进行潜在污染的化学物质，这些化学物质与大约100个私人饮用水水井接壤，该饮用水井位于东帕尔斯坦火车上2英里的半径内。在对选定的东巴勒斯坦私人井和家用饮用水系统的现场检查期间，普渡大学还记录了由高密度聚乙烯（HDPE）（HDPE）和交联聚乙烯（PEX）组成的井外和建筑管道系统的使用，这些系统已知是渗透和/或累积的vocs和/或累积的vocs and/或svocs。这个快速的项目将从地表水，地下水和家用饮用水系统中收集和分析临时水样样品，其目的是表征和理解在东部巴勒斯坦火车列车系统中HDPE/PEX型号的表面上形成的液管系统和生物膜内释放的VOC/SVOC的命运，这些效果是在东部巴勒斯坦火车上的HDPE/PEX PIPES表面形成的。该项目的成功完成，通过产生新数据和基本知识来指导和实施对东巴勒斯坦火车出轨地点和社区附近的家庭水系统的有效补救解决方案的设计和实施，从而有可能产生变革性的影响。通过学生的教育和培训，包括普渡大学的两名研究生的心理，可以通过学生的教育和培训来实现其他好处。生物膜在塑料管道材料表面上的形成和生长对饮用水分配系统的水质和安全性有重大影响。在俄亥俄州东巴勒斯坦火车出轨期间，挥发性有机化合物（VOC）和半挥发性有机化合物（SVOC）的释放提供了一个独特且敏感的机会，以对这些污染物在其表面上进行这些污染物的基本投资进行基本投资。 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原始的PE表面和3）生物膜链条可能会导致高污染物暴露的急性发作。研究的具体目的是1）特征表征东巴勒斯坦化学事故的重量污染样品，使用气相色谱（GC） - 质谱法（MS）和质子传递共振（PTR） - 飞行时间（TOF） - 识别和选择目标voc/svocs（2）测量的（2）diff sesur and diff offius and diff sesur and Proton传递（PTR） - 2）在新/原始的高密度聚乙烯（HDPE）树脂颗粒和管道中选定的VOC/SVOC，以及3）测量所选VOC/SVOC的扩散性（D）和溶解度（k）系数在生物胶片涂层的HDPE树脂板和管道中使用来自不同影响的水的水。这项研究的成功完成，通过产生新数据以及对HDPE丰满系统中积累的VOC/SVOC的命运的基本知识，从而产生了变革性的影响，这些知识和家用水系统的生物膜累积了，这些水系统受到东巴勒斯坦化学化学溢油事故的影响。这个快速项目产生的新数据和知识可以使受影响的家庭能够了解其供水系统污染的程度，并设计/实施有效的补救解决方案。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准通过评估来获得的支持。