Ecotoxicological characterisation of exhaust particulates from diesel-powered light-duty vehicles (original) (raw)
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Ecotoxicity and genotoxicity assessment of exhaust particulates from diesel-powered buses
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2013
Diesel exhaust is one of the major sources of fine and ultra-fine particulate matter in urban air. Toxicity of diesel-powered engine emissions has been quite widely assessed; however, much less information is available on their ecotoxicity. In our study, the kinetic version of the Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition bioassay based on the ISO 21338:2010 standard was used to characterise the ecotoxicity of diesel-powered buses. It is a direct contact test in which solid samples are tested in suspension and test organisms are in direct contact with toxic particles. The age of the selected buses fell into a wide range; the oldest one was produced in 1987. Diesel engines of different emission standards (Euro0-Euro4) were included. Measured EC 50 values of Euro0-Euro1 engine emissions fell into the same range, 1.24-0.96 μg ml −1 , respectively. On the contrary, emission of Euro4 vehicle proved to be non-toxic. Genotoxic potential of the samples was also estimated, using the colorimetric SOS-chromotest™. Genotoxicity was detected also for Euro0 and Euro1 buses, showing correlation with the ecotoxic potential. The fact that the particulates from Euro4 vehicles did not show ecotoxic/genotoxic effect implies that replacing old Euro1 and Euro2 buses can be a highly effective solution for reducing environmental hazard of automotive emissions. The whole-aerosol testing method is a cheap alternative that can be used in engine developments and emission control.
1982
The cytotoxicity of the dichloromethane extracts of diesel exhaust particles from passenger cars of different manufacturers was studied in cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells. While exhaust particles from diesel cars of the same make and model yielded extracts of similar cytotoxicity, those from cars of different manufacturers yielded extracts with a 3-fold difference in cytotoxicity. Using data on the percentages of extractable organic chemicals and total exhaust particulate emission rates, the emission rates of cytotoxin into the environment from the different cars were calculated. Of the 3 factors that could affect the emission rate of cytotoxins (cytotoxicity of the extractable chemicals, amount of cytotoxins per particle, and particulate emission rate), the differences in particulate emission rates were found to be the predominant factors leading to the differences in the emission rate of cytotoxins. Our findings indicate the need to consider other chemical and physical data, not just the activities of the extracts, when the potential health risk due to the exhaust emissions of different automobiles are compared.
Environmental science and pollution research international, 2017
Concerns regarding the environmental impact of diesel exhaust particulate matter (DPM) have increased in recent years. Following emission to the atmosphere, these fine materials can sorb many contaminants at their surface, which can subsequently be released, for instance, due to physicochemical environmental changes. The desorption of contaminants from particulate matter will increase the environmental pollution and can promote ecotoxicological effects. In this context, the objective of this study was to assess the aquatic ecotoxicity profile of extracts of DPM obtained at two different pH values. Thus, after collecting particulate matter from the diesel exhaust of heavy engines, extracts were obtained with pure water (at pH 2.00 and 5.00) and with a mixture of three organic solvents (dichloromethane, n-hexane, and acetone). To assess the environmental impact of DPM, the exhaust extracts were used in a battery of aquatic bioassays including key organisms of the food chain: bacteria ...
Chemical Research in Toxicology, 1996
The emission of diesel exhaust particulates is associated with potentially severe biological effects, e.g., cancer. The aim of the present study was to apply multivariate statistical methods to identify factors that affect the biological potency of these exhausts. Ten diesel fuels were analyzed regarding physical and chemical characteristics. Particulate exhaust emissions were sampled after combustion of these fuels on two makes of heavy duty diesel engines. Particle extracts were chemically analyzed and tested for mutagenicity in the Ames test. Also, the potency of the extracts to competitively inhibit the binding of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-pdioxin (TCDD) to the Ah receptor was assessed. Relationships between fuel characteristics and biological effects of the extracts were studied, using partial least squares regression (PLS). The most influential chemical fuel parameters included the contents of sulfur, certain polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC), and naphthenes. Density and flash point were positively correlated with genotoxic potency. Cetane number and upper distillation curve points were negatively correlated with both mutagenicity and Ah receptor affinity. Between 61% and 70% of the biological response data could be explained by the measured chemical and physical factors of the fuels. By PLS modeling of extract data versus the biological response data, 66% of the genotoxicity could be explained, by 41% of the chemical variation. The most important variables, associated with both mutagenicity and Ah receptor affinity, included 1-nitropyrene, particle bound nitrate, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, and emitted mass of particles. S9-requiring mutagenicity was highly correlated with certain PAC, whereas S9-independent mutagenicity was better correlated with nitrates and 1-nitropyrene. The emission of sulfates also showed a correlation both with the emission of particles and with the biological effects. The results indicate that fuels with biologically less hazardous potentials should have high cetane number and contain less PAC and sulfur. The results also indicate that engine factors affect the formation and emission of nitrated PAC.
GC/MS and MS/MS studies of diesel exhaust mutagenicity and emissions from chemically-defined fuels
Environmental Science & Technology, 1984
rn Selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) dissolved in an aliphatic solvent (hexadecane) were utilized as fuels in a single cylinder diesel engine to examine relationships between diesel fuel aromaticity, PAH content, and the mutagenic activities associated with diesel soot. The direct-acting mutagenic response to Salmonella and the percent extractable organics associated with soot particles was 3-4-fold lower when pure hexadecane was combusted compared to reference diesel fuel. Certain PAHs (pyrene and phenanthrene) when added to aliphatic fuel caused increased emissions of the same PAH and increased nitro-PAH emissions corresponding to the parent PAHs but no increase in soot production. Other PAHs (1-methylnaphthalene, acenaphthene, and benzo[a]pyrene) increased the overall emissions of several PAHs and soot and altered patterns of nitro-PAH emissions. It was concluded that the incomplete combustion of PAHs through soot-forming mechanisms may significantly influence exhaust emissions of PAHs and nitro-PAHs from diesel engines, and the concentration on soot particles reflects both the boiling point and the relative stability of individual compounds.
The effect of fuel composition on the mutagenicity of diesel engine exhaust
Mutation Research Letters, 1995
The effect of fuel composition on the mutagenicity of diesel engine emission was investigated. To this end, a fuel matrix comprising fuels with different contents of aromatic and naphthenic compounds was used. Extracts of the organic phase of raw exhausts obtained with different fuels were tested for mutagenicity in bacterial reversion assays. The results obtained demonstrate that the mutagenicity of diesel exhaust is largely dependent on the aromatic content of the fuel. In fact, mutagenicity was greatly reduced when the aromatic content of the fuel was lowered by hydrogen treatment. Conversely, mutagenicity was enhanced when the fuel was enriched with fractions of di-or triaromatic compounds. The addition of di-and trinaphthenic compounds only produced borderline mutagenicity. No clear relationship was observed between sulfur content of the fuel and mutagenicity of the exhaust. Assays in bacterial strains with different sensitivity to nitroaromatic compounds suggest a low contribution of the highly mutagenic dinitropyrenes to the responses observed, and a relatively greater contribution of 1-nitropyrene or other nitroaromatics processed by the same bacterial nitroreductase. * Corresponding author. Tel. + +39 6 4990 ext. 840; Fax + +39 6 4440140. diesel engine exhausts are mutagenic and carcinogenic to laboratory animals and possibly to humans (IARC, 1989). Due to the growing impact of vehicle emissions on human health, especially in urban, densely populated areas, the development of control measures to contain human exposure to motor vehicle pollutants is urgently required. To this end, both the hardware control of emissions, e.g. through the use of advanced engine technology including catalysts, proper engine design, inspection and maintenance, and the 0165-7992/95/$09.50 © 1995 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved SSDI 0165-7992(94)00083-2
Mutagenic activity in diesel exhaust particulates
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 1981
Research on diesel exhaust particulates is necessitated by the expected increase in the production of diesel powered automobiles for better fuel economy. It is expected that 25% of 1985 model cars will have diesel engines. The discovery that diesel exhaust particulates were mutagenic in the Ames Salmonella bioassay prompted investigation of the organic phase of this aerosol. A unique property of diesel particulate extracts is the fact that mammalian enzymes are not required for activity. This is different from polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and some natural mutagens such as aflatoxin B I which are active only if S-9 Mix is present. Therefore, diesel ~xhaust particulates may contain a different class of mutagens.
Diesel exhaust exposure, its multi-system effects, and the effect of new technology diesel exhaust
Environment international, 2018
Exposure to diesel exhaust (DE) from vehicles and industry is hazardous and affects proper function of organ systems. DE can interfere with normal physiology after acute and chronic exposure to particulate matter (PM). Exposure leads to potential systemic disease processes in the central nervous, visual, hematopoietic, respiratory, cardiovascular, and renal systems. In this review, we give an overview of the epidemiological evidence supporting the harmful effects of diesel exhaust, and the numerous animal studies conducted to investigate the specific pathophysiological mechanisms behind DE exposure. Additionally, this review includes a summary of studies that used biomarkers as an indication of biological plausibility, and also studies evaluating new technology diesel exhaust (NTDE) and its systemic effects. Lastly, this review includes new approaches to improving DE emissions, and emphasizes the importance of ongoing study in this field of environmental health.
IEA-AMF Annex XLII . Report from WNRI (Norway) on toxicity of exhaust emissions.
IEA AMF Annex XLII / ′11, 2011
WNRI has been a partner in the EEA project “Influence of bio-components content in fuel on emission of diesel engines and engine oil deterioration” (BIODEG). WNRI has had the responsibility for the task “Toxicity aspects”. WNRI used molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) on supercomputer for this task. From the knowledge that fossil fuel exhaust has significant presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and biodiesel exhaust contain uncombusted fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), we investigated the formation of PAH-FAME complexes in blends of biodiesel in fossil diesel. This study was motivated by the assumption that formation of such complexes increase the availability of PAHs to intracellular damage. This is due to the FAME part acting to increase the membrane-crossing ability of PAHs. In other words, that FAMEs function as “vehicles” for PAHs enabling PAHs to enter into lung cells. This implies that blending biodiesel into fossil diesel might increase the exhaust toxicity. The MDS results indicated that it is likely that such PAH-FAME aggregates are being formed as nanoparticles with diameter less than 10 nm.
Particulate matter (PM) emitted from three light-duty vehicles was studied in terms of its physicochemical and ecotoxicological character using Microtox bioassay tests. A diesel vehicle equipped with an oxidation catalyst emitted PM which consisted of carbon species at over 97%. PM from a diesel vehicle with a particle filter (DPF) consisted of almost equal amounts of carbon species and ions, while a gasoline vehicle emitted PM consisting of w90% carbon and w10% ions. Both the DPF and the gasoline vehicles produced a distinct nucleation mode at 120 km/h. The PM emitted from the DPF and the gasoline vehicles was less ecotoxic than that of conventional diesel, but not in direct proportion to the emission levels of the different vehicles. These results indicate that PM emission reductions are not equally translated into ecotoxicity reductions, implying some deficiencies on the actual environmental impact of emission control technologies and regulations.