Potential Toxicity Risk Assessment and Priority Control Strategy for PAHs Metabolism and Transformation Behaviors in the Environment

Lei Zhao, Mengying Zhou, Yuanyuan Zhao, Jiawen Yang, Qikun Pu, Hao Yang, Yang Wu, Cong Lyu () and Yu Li ()
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Lei Zhao: College of New Energy and Environment, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
Mengying Zhou: MOE Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Yuanyuan Zhao: MOE Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Jiawen Yang: MOE Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Qikun Pu: MOE Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Hao Yang: MOE Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Yang Wu: MOE Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Cong Lyu: College of New Energy and Environment, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
Yu Li: MOE Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-25

Abstract: In this study, 16 PAHs were selected as the priority control pollutants to summarize their environmental metabolism and transformation processes, including photolysis, plant degradation, bacterial degradation, fungal degradation, microalgae degradation, and human metabolic transformation. Meanwhile, a total of 473 PAHs by-products generated during their transformation and degradation in different environmental media were considered. Then, a comprehensive system was established for evaluating the PAHs by-products’ neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, phytotoxicity, developmental toxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and endocrine-disrupting effect through molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, 3D-QSAR model, TOPKAT method, and VEGA platform. Finally, the potential environmental risk (phytotoxicity) and human health risks (neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, developmental toxicity, and endocrine-disrupting toxicity) during PAHs metabolism and transformation were comprehensively evaluated. Among the 473 PAH’s metabolized and transformed products, all PAHs by-products excluding ACY, CHR, and DahA had higher neurotoxicity, 152 PAHs by-products had higher immunotoxicity, and 222 PAHs by-products had higher phytotoxicity than their precursors during biological metabolism and environmental transformation. Based on the TOPKAT model, 152 PAH by-products possessed potential developmental toxicity, and 138 PAH by-products had higher genotoxicity than their precursors. VEGA predicted that 247 kinds of PAH derivatives had carcinogenic activity, and only the natural transformation products of ACY did not have carcinogenicity. In addition to ACY, 15 PAHs produced 123 endocrine-disrupting substances during metabolism and transformation. Finally, the potential environmental and human health risks of PAHs metabolism and transformation products were evaluated using metabolic and transformation pathway probability and degree of toxic risk as indicators. Accordingly, the priority control strategy for PAHs was constructed based on the risk entropy method by screening the priority control pathways. This paper assesses the potential human health and environmental risks of PAHs in different environmental media with the help of models and toxicological modules for the toxicity prediction of PAHs by-products, and thus designs a risk priority control evaluation system for PAHs.

Keywords: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); biological metabolism; environmental transformation; environmental risk; human health risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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