Toxicity of particulate matter from incineration of nanowaste

Abstract

Disposal of some nanomaterial-containing waste by incineration and the subsequent formation of particulate matter (PM) along with hazardous combustion by-products are inevitable. The effect of nanomaterials on the toxicity of the PM is unknown. We assessed the oxidative potential (OP) and toxicity of PM resulting from the incineration of pure nanomaterials and of paper and plastic wastes containing Ag, NiO, TiO 2 , ceria, C 60 , Fe 2 O 3 , or CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (CdSe QD) at mass loadings ranging from 0.1 wt% to 10 wt%.We measured reactive oxygen species (ROS) using the dichlorofluorescein assay, and we also measured consumption of ascorbic acid, dithiothreitol (DTT), glutathione (GSH), or uric acid antioxidants from raw and solvent-extracted PM, denoted "cleaned PM". We determined cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of PM to A549 human lung epithelial cells with the WST-1 cell viability and histone immunofluorescence assays, respectively. In most cases, the presence of nanomaterials in the waste did not significantly affect the OP of PM; however, PM derived from waste containing Ag, TiO 2 , and C 60 had elevated ROS response in the GSH and DTT assays. The ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione was significantly higher for cleaned PM compared to raw PM for almost all nanomaterials at almost all concentrations, indicating that combustion by-products adsorbed on raw PM play an important role in determining OP. The presence of nanomaterials did not significantly modify the cytotoxicity or genotoxicity of the PM. Different antioxidants used to assess OP had varying sensitivity towards organic compounds v. metals in PM. The presence of these seven nanomaterials at low concentrations in the waste stream is not expected to exacerbate the hazard posed by PM that is produced by incineration. † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: TEM micrographs of PM, metal content in the waste. See As more engineered nanomaterials are incorporated into consumer products, nanomaterials will inevitably enter the waste stream, and it is certain that some will be incinerated. The toxicity of nanomaterials stemming from the incineration on nanowaste is unknown. Incineration can modify the physicochemical properties of a nanomaterial and the emitted particulate matter and potentially alter their toxicity.a Significantly different in size from rPM at p < 0.05. b Significantly different from corresponding control at p < 0.05 polydispersity index: rPM (0.315 ± 0.094), cPM (0.159 ± 0.047). c Measurements correspond to 0 wt% and are listed in this column for convenience.

Nickel oxide nanoparticles induced pulmonary fibrosis via TGF-β1 activation in rats

“…(1) Nano NiO has a wide range of applications such as catalysts, cosmetics, and sensors, and the high consumption leads to environment pollution and health hazard. 25,26 (2) As an insoluble compound, nano NiO can exert toxicity via cellular uptake and subsequent mobilization of nickel ions. (3) Lung is an important target organ of inhaled nano NiO, 27 and International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified NiO particles as Group I carcinogenic substance, for its association with the development of lung cancer.…”

Oxidative potential of ambient water-soluble PM&lt;sub&gt;2.5&lt;/sub&gt; in the southeastern United States: contrasts in sources and health associations between ascorbic acid (AA) and dithiothreitol (DTT) assays

“…A number of different assays have been developed to quantify the oxidative potential of PM samples (Zomer et al, 2011;Ayres et al, 2008;Jung et al, 2006;Cho et al, 2005;Mudway et al, 2005;Venkatachari et al, 2005). Two commonly used approaches are the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay (Cho et al, 2005) and the ascorbic acid (AA) assay (Ayres et al, 2008;Mudway et al, 2005).…”

Current limitations and challenges in nanowaste detection, characterisation and monitoring

“…Focussing on nanowaste characterisation, recent studies about end-of-life ENMs, present and measured in the solid phase, aim to examine the fate and potential transformation processes of ENMs during thermal waste treatment processes (Vejerano et al, 2013(Vejerano et al, , 2014(Vejerano et al, , 2015Walser et al, 2012). Currently, only few studies are published that investigated nanowaste in the liquid phase, the transfer of ENMs to liquid phase or their behaviour in landfill leachates (Bolyard et al, 2013;Hennebert et al, 2013;Lozano and Berge, 2012;Walser et al, 2012).…”