1. Development of a simulated lung fluid leaching method to assess the release of potentially toxic elements from volcanic ash
- Author
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Claire J. Horwell, Ines Tomašek, Suzette A. Morman, Chris J. Ottley, Matthieu Kervyn, Marc Elskens, Sofian El Yazidi, Geoff Plumlee, Pierre Delmelle, David E. Damby, Martine Leermakers, Carol Stewart, Philippe Claeys, Physical Geography, Analytical, Environmental & Geo-Chemistry, Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Earth System Sciences, Geography, and UCL - SST/ELI/ELIE - Environmental Sciences
- Subjects
Environmental Engineering ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,0208 environmental biotechnology ,02 engineering and technology ,Volcanic Eruptions ,010501 environmental sciences ,Hazard analysis ,01 natural sciences ,Coal Ash ,simulated lung fluid ,Pulmonary surfactant ,Metals, Heavy ,volcanic ash ,Environmental Chemistry ,Leachate ,Dissolution ,Lung ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Ions ,Precipitation (chemistry) ,Chemistry ,Extraction (chemistry) ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,General Chemistry ,General Medicine ,Pollution ,potentially toxic elements ,020801 environmental engineering ,Environmental chemistry ,Leaching ,method ,Leaching (metallurgy) ,Hazard assessment ,Volcanic ash - Abstract
Freshly erupted volcanic ash contains a range of soluble elements, some of which can generate harmful effects in living cells and are considered potentially toxic elements (PTEs). This work investigates the leaching dynamics of ash-associated PTEs in order to optimize a method for volcanic ash respiratory hazard assessment. Using three pristine (unaffected by precipitation) ash samples, we quantify the release of PTEs (Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) and major cations typical of ash leachates (Mg, Na, Ca, K) in multiple simulated lung fluid (SLF) preparations and under varying experimental parameters (contact time and solid to liquid ratio). Data are compared to a standard water leach (WL) to ascertain whether the WL can be used as a simple proxy for SLF leaching. The main findings are: PTE concentrations reach steady-state dissolution by 24 h, and a relatively short contact time (10 min) approximates maximum dissolution; PTE dissolution is comparatively stable at low solid to liquid ratios (1:100 to 1:1000); inclusion of commonly used macromolecules has element-specific effects, and addition of a lung surfactant has little impact on extraction efficiency. These observations indicate that a WL can be used to approximate lung bioaccessible PTEs in an eruption response situation. This is a useful step towards standardizing in vitro methods to determine the soluble-element hazard from inhaled ash.
- Published
- 2021