Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon status in post-hurricane Harvey sediments: Considerations for environmental sampling in the Galveston Bay/Houston Ship Channel region

Camargo, Krisa; Sericano, José L.; Bhandari, Sharmilla; Hoelscher, Christena; McDonald, Thomas J.; Chiu, Weihsueh A.; Wade, Terry L.; Dellapenna, Timothy M.; Liu, Yina; Knap, Anthony H.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111872

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The event, from both rainfall and coastal flooding, resulted in broad redistribution of sediments in the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay, including deposition of sediment known to be contaminated by a variety of chemicals [ 2 , 46 , 47 ] on shore in densely-populated residential areas. Previous studies documented redistribution of PAHs and other chemicals after Hurricane Harvey [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 48 , 49 ]. While the data on chemical contaminants in soil, water, or sediment samples would be typically used as a basis for risk management and remediation decisions [ 50 ], the distribution of the contaminants in affected areas is difficult to ascertain with precision over large areas of potential impact.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Surface sediment samples (<5 cm depth) collection procedures are detailed in [ 4 ]. Samples were from Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay area ( Figure 1 and Supplementary Table S1 ) and collected after Hurricane Harvey which occurred in late August-early September of 2017.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The U.S. EPA priority 16 PAHs as well the total PAH concentrations in sediment samples were analyzed by Geochemical and Environmental Research Group at Texas A&M University as previously reported [ 4 ]. Bioactivity data (POD values for each cell type) and PAH concentrations were used for the analysis of potential correlation with spatial locations as detailed elsewhere [ 11 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sediments in the Galveston Bay are known to be contaminated by various types of hazardous chemicals including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polycyclic biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, and heavy metals [ 2 ]. Indeed, recent studies indicated that post-Harvey, pollutants such as PAHs were redistributed in the environmental matrixes such as sediments [ 3 , 4 ] and soil [ 5 , 6 ], leading to potential new human health risks. Because disasters are emergency events, there is a pressing need to develop methods for rapid and comprehensive assessments of potential exposures to, and hazards of, complex environmental mixtures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Potential Human Health Hazard of Post-Hurricane Harvey Sediments in Galveston Bay and Houston Ship Channel: A Case Study of Using In Vitro Bioactivity Data to Inform Risk Management Decisions

Chen

Jang

Kaihatu

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Natural and anthropogenic disasters may be associated with redistribution of chemical contaminants in the environment; however, current methods for assessing hazards and risks of complex mixtures are not suitable for disaster response. This study investigated the suitability of in vitro toxicity testing methods as a rapid means of identifying areas of potential human health concern. We used sediment samples (n = 46) from Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel (GB/HSC) areas after hurricane Harvey, a disaster event that led to broad redistribution of chemically-contaminated sediments, including deposition of the sediment on shore due to flooding. Samples were extracted with cyclohexane and dimethyl sulfoxide and screened in a compendium of human primary or induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell lines from different tissues (hepatocytes, neuronal, cardiomyocytes, and endothelial) to test for concentration-dependent effects on various functional and cytotoxicity phenotypes (n = 34). Bioactivity data were used to map areas of potential concern and the results compared to the data on concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the same samples. We found that setting remediation goals based on reducing bioactivity is protective of both “known” risks associated with PAHs and “unknown” risks associated with bioactivity, but the converse was not true for remediation based on PAH risks alone. Overall, we found that in vitro bioactivity can be used as a comprehensive indicator of potential hazards and is an example of a new approach method (NAM) to inform risk management decisions on site cleanup.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Potential Human Health Hazard of Post-Hurricane Harvey Sediments in Galveston Bay and Houston Ship Channel: A Case Study of Using In Vitro Bioactivity Data to Inform Risk Management Decisions

Chen

Jang

Kaihatu

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…For example, surface sediment was measured in Galveston Bay, and it was found that various particle reactive metals (e.g., lead, barium, mercury, copper, manganese, zinc, etc.) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) sorbet onto the sediment, meaning that they have a great chance of resuspending during resuspension events (Santschi et al, 2001;Dellapenna et al, 2020;Camargo et al, 2021). Therefore, our estimated residence time of suspended sediments (51-105 days, Table 2) suggest these pollutants that adsorb to suspended sediment may spend months before they leave the Galveston Bay.…”

Section: Implications To the Galveston Bay Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

7Be/210Pbxs Ratio-Derived Age and Residence Time of Suspended Sediments in Galveston Bay

2021

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The winds associated with the passage of meteorological fronts cause waves that induce sediment remobilization/resuspension, especially within shallow estuaries such as Galveston Bay. The passage of cold fronts, collectively, on an annual to decadal basis, generate more sediment resuspension than most hurricanes and tropical storms. With a warming climate, the intensity of all meteorological events is shifting toward having greater impacts on these biologically productive environments. To better understand sediment resuspension within the bay, water samples were collected during frontal passages at two locations in Galveston Bay, including one location in the middle portion of the bay and another closer to the mouth of the bay. By collecting precipitation, water samples in both the middle and lower bay, and measuring the ratio of 7Be/210Pbxs in these samples; we quantified the residence times of total suspended sediment (TSS) in middle and lower Galveston Bay. Our results showed that suspended sediment age increased and percent of new suspended sediment decreased along the axis from the middle bay to the lower bay. This results from the initial introduction of newly labeled isotopes and suspended load coming from fluvial discharges which enter at the top of the bay and travel through the bay. The age of suspended sediment from the first sampling event was 70 ± 10 days, whereas the age in the second event was 16 ± 3 days greater. In the last sampling event, the age of suspended sediment event was 35 ± 7.4 days younger than the second, suggesting that the majority of suspended sediments was likely transported entirely out of the bay by the second cold front, prior to the final sampling event. This indicates that there are longer suspended sediment residence times when the water is trapped within the bay. Our estimated residence time of suspended sediments (51–105 days) suggest the particle-bound contaminants adsorb to suspended sediment may spend months suspended in the bay before exiting the bay or being accreted into the bay sediment column, increasing the exposure time of living organisms to various particle-bound contaminants.

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In vitro-in vivo biotransformation and phase I metabolite profiling of benzo[a]pyrene in Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis) populations with different exposure histories

Franco

Ramirez

Johanning³

et al. 2022

Aquatic Toxicology

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon status in post-hurricane Harvey sediments: Considerations for environmental sampling in the Galveston Bay/Houston Ship Channel region

Cited by 7 publications

References 27 publications

Potential Human Health Hazard of Post-Hurricane Harvey Sediments in Galveston Bay and Houston Ship Channel: A Case Study of Using In Vitro Bioactivity Data to Inform Risk Management Decisions

Potential Human Health Hazard of Post-Hurricane Harvey Sediments in Galveston Bay and Houston Ship Channel: A Case Study of Using In Vitro Bioactivity Data to Inform Risk Management Decisions

7Be/210Pbxs Ratio-Derived Age and Residence Time of Suspended Sediments in Galveston Bay

In vitro-in vivo biotransformation and phase I metabolite profiling of benzo[a]pyrene in Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis) populations with different exposure histories

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