Environmental Levels of PCDD/Fs near Cement Plants in Catalonia, Spain. An Update of Human Health Risks

Authors

  • Neus González

    1. Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43201 Reus, Spain; 2. Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), 43204 Reus, Spain
  • Joaquim Rovira

    1. Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43201 Reus, Spain; 2. Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), 43204 Reus, Spain
  • José L. Domingo

    1. Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43201 Reus, Spain; 2. Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), 43204 Reus, Spain
  • Martí Nadal

    1. Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43201 Reus, Spain; 2. Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), 43204 Reus, Spain

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v6i3.6937
Received: 23 July 2024 | Revised: 4 September 2024 | Accepted: 5 September 2024 | Published Online: 25 September 2024

Abstract

Cement production is an important industrial activity that generates large amounts of pollutants, including, among others, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). These environmental contaminants are persistent and bioaccumulative, potentially causing serious adverse effects on human health, including cancer. The present paper was aimed at providing an update of the environmental concentrations of PCDD/Fs around various cement plants located in Catalonia, Spain. The non-carcinogenic and the carcinogenic risks associated to PCDD/Fs exposure were also assessed for the population living near the facilities. According to the present results, the environmental burdens of PCDD/Fs were highly dependent on the surroundings, rather than the technical specifics characteristics of each facility. Thus, higher concentrations were found near cement plants located in urban areas, where other emission sources (e.g., heavy traffic, domestic heating, etc.) may be present. The surveillance studies showed long-term stable concentrations in air, while PCDD/Fs levels in soil and vegetation were more variable. Although inhalation was the most relevant pathway of environmental exposure, the main uptake of PCDD/Fs occurs -in general- via dietary intake. Cancer risks were higher for people living near cement plants in urban areas than in rural environments, but at levels that are considered as acceptable by international regulations. In turn, the non-carcinogenic risks suggest a low concern, as the hazard quotient was <1. Long-term surveys conducted in Catalan cement plants indicate that these facilities, which are periodically (every two years) monitored, should not be of concern for human health, in terms of PCDD/F exposure.

Keywords:

PCDD/Fs; Cement industry; Environmental monitors; Long-term surveillance; Health risk assessment

References

[1] Tkachenko, N., Tang, K., McCarten, M., et al., 2023. Global database of cement production assets and upstream suppliers. Scientific Data. 10, 1–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02599-w

[2] Manisalidis, I., Stavropoulou, E., Stavropoulos, A., et al., 2020. Environmental and Health Impacts of Air Pollution: A Review. Frontiers of Public Health. 8, 1–13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00014

[3] Rovira, J., Mari, M., Schuhmacher, M., et al., 2021. Environmental levels and human health risks of metals and PCDD/Fs near cement plants co-processing alternative fuels in Catalonia, NE Spain: a mini-review. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A. Toxic/hazardous Substances and Environmental Engineering. 56, 379–385. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2021.1880836

[4] Schuhmacher, M., Domingo J.L., 2006. Long-term study of environmental levels of dioxins and furans in the vicinity of a municipal solid waste incinerator. Environmental International. 32, 397–404. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2005.09.002

[5] González, N., Domingo, J.L., 2021. Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in food and human dietary intake: An update of the scientific literature. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 157, 112585. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2021.112585

[6] IARC, 1997. IARC Monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans: polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans. IARC Monogr. 69.

[7] Mari, M., Rovira, J., Sánchez-Soberón, F., et al., 2018. Partial replacement of fossil fuels in a cement plant: Assessment of human health risks by metals, metalloids and PCDD/Fs. Environmental Research. 167, 191–197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.07.014

[8] Mari, M., Rovira, J., Sánchez-Soberón, F., et al., 2017. Environmental trends of metals and PCDD/Fs around a cement plant after alternative fuel implementation: Human health risk assessment. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. 19, 917–927. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c7em00121e

[9] Rovira, J., Mari, M., Schuhmacher, M., et al., 2011. Monitoring environmental pollutants in the vicinity of a cement plant: A temporal study. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 60, 372–384. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9628-9

[10] Rovira, J., Mari, M., Nadal, M., et al., 2011. Levels of metals and PCDD/Fs in the vicinity of a cement plant: Assessment of human health risks. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A. Toxic/hazardous Substances and Environmental Engineering. 46, 1075–1084. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2011.590383

[11] Rovira, J., Nadal, M., Schuhmacher, M., et al., 2014. Environmental levels of PCDD/Fs and metals around a cement plant in Catalonia, Spain, before and after alternative fuel implementation. Assessment of human health risks. The Science of the Total Environment. 485–486, 121–129. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.03.061

[12] Schuhmacher, M., Bocio, A., Agramunt, M.C., et al., 2002. PCDD/F and metal concentrations in soil and herbage samples collected in the vicinity of a cement plant. Chemosphere. 48, 209–217. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(02)00042-5

[13] Schuhmacher, M., Agramunt, M.C., Bocio, A., et al., 2003. Annual variation in the levels of metals and PCDD/PCDFs in soil and herbage samples collected near a cement plant. Environment International. 29, 415–421. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-4120(02)00151-4

[14] Nadal, M., Schuhmacher, M., Domingo, J.L., 2009. Cost-benefit analysis of using sewage sludge as alternative fuel in a cement plant: A case study. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 16, 322–328.

[15] Oh, D.Y., Noguchi, T., Kitagaki, R., et al., 2014. CO2 emission reduction by reuse of building material waste in the Japanese cement industry. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 38, 796–810. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.036

[16] Aranda Usón, A., López-Sabirón, A.M., Ferreira, G., et al., 2013. Uses of alternative fuels and raw materials in the cement industry as sustainable waste management options. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 23, 242–260. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.02.024

[17] Luo, Z., Song, H., Huang, Y., et al., 2024. Recent Advances on the Uses of Biomass Alternative Fuels in Cement Manufacturing Process: A Review. Energy Fuel. 38, 7454–7479. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.3c04535

[18] Schuhmacher, M., Nadal, M., Domingo, J.L., 2009. Environmental monitoring of PCDD/Fs and metals in the vicinity of a cement plant after using sewage sludge as a secondary fuel. Chemosphere. 74, 1502–1508. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2008.11.055

[19] Vilavert, L., Nadal, M., Schuhmacher, M., et al., 2014. Seasonal surveillance of airborne PCDD/Fs, PCBs and PCNs using passive samplers to assess human health risks. The Science of the Total Environment. 466–467, 733–740. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.07.124

[20] MMA, 2007. Guía Técnica de aplicación del RD 9/2005, de 14 de enero, por el que se establece la relación de actividades potencialmente contaminantes del suelo y los criterios y estandares para la declaración de suelos contaminados, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Madrid, Spain

[21] van den Berg, M., Birnbaum, L.S., Denison, M., et al., 2006. The 2005 World Health Organization reevaluation of human and mammalian toxic equivalency factors for dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. Toxicological Sciences. 93, 223–241. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfl055

[22] Han, J., Xu, C., Jin, J., et al., 2022. PCNs, PCBs, and PCDD/Fs in soil around a cement kiln co-processing municipal wastes in Northwestern China: Levels, distribution, and potential human health risks. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 19, 12860. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912860

[23] Domingo, J.L., Schumacher, M., Granero, S., et al., 1999. PCDDs and PCDFs in food samples from Catalonia, Spain. An assessment of dietary intake. Chemosphere. 38, 3517–3528. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0045-6535(98)00581-5.

[24] Llobet, J.M., Martí-Cid, R., Castell, V., et al., 2008. Significant decreasing trend in human dietary exposure to PCDD/PCDFs and PCBs in Catalonia, Spain. Toxicology Letters. 178, 117–126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2008.02.012

[25] González, N., Marquès, M., Nadal, M., et al., 2018. Levels of PCDD/Fs in foodstuffs in Tarragona County (Catalonia, Spain): Spectacular decrease in the dietary intake of PCDD/Fs in the last 20 years. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 121, 109–114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2018.08.035

[26] Linares V., Perelló G., Nadal M., et al., 2010. Environmental versus dietary exposure to POPs and metals: A probabilistic assessment of human health risks. Journal of Environmental Monitoring. 12, 681–688. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/b914962g

[27] Ruiz, P., Lacomba, I., López, A., et al., 2023. Exposure and risk assessment to airborne dl-PCBs and dioxins in the population living in the neighborhood of a cement plant: A pilot study in the Valencian region of Spain. Toxics. 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11040389

[28] Mallongi, A., Stang, S., Astuti, R.D.P., et al., 2023. Risk assessment of fine particulate matter exposure attributed to the presence of the cement industry. Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management. 9, 43–58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22034/gjesm.2023.01.04

Downloads

How to Cite

González, N., Rovira, J., José L. Domingo, & Nadal, M. (2024). Environmental Levels of PCDD/Fs near Cement Plants in Catalonia, Spain. An Update of Human Health Risks. Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences, 6(3), 156–166. https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v6i3.6937

Issue

Vol. 6 , Iss. 3 (October 2024): In progress

Article Type

Article

License

Copyright © 2024 Neus González, Joaquim Rovira, José L. Domingo, Martí Nadal

Creative Commons License

This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC