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. 2020 Mar:8:20.
doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2020.00020. Epub 2020 Mar 4.

Challenging Global Waste Management - Bioremediation to Detoxify Asbestos

Shannon L Wallis  1 , Edward A Emmett  2 , Robyn Hardy  3 , Brenda B Casper  4 , Dan J Blanchon  5 , Joseph R Testa  6 , Craig W Menges  6 , Cédric Gonneau  4 , Douglas J Jerolmack  7 , Ali Seiphoori  7 , Gregor Steinhorn  8 , Terri-Ann Berry  1
Affiliations

Challenging Global Waste Management - Bioremediation to Detoxify Asbestos

Shannon L Wallis et al. Front Environ Sci. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

As the 21st century uncovers ever-increasing volumes of asbestos and asbestos-contaminated waste, we need a new way to stop 'grandfather's problem' from becoming that of our future generations. The production of inexpensive, mechanically strong, heat resistant building materials containing asbestos has inevitably led to its use in many public and residential buildings globally. It is therefore not surprising that since the asbestos boom in the 1970s, some 30 years later, the true extent of this hidden danger was exposed. Yet, this severely toxic material continues to be produced and used in some countries, and in others the disposal options for historic uses - generally landfill - are at best unwieldy and at worst insecure. We illustrate the global scale of the asbestos problem via three case studies which describe various removal and/or end disposal issues. These case studies from both industrialised and island nations demonstrate the potential for the generation of massive amounts of asbestos contaminated soil. In each case, the final outcome of the project was influenced by factors such as cost and land availability, both increasing issues, worldwide. The reduction in the generation of asbestos containing materials will not absolve us from the necessity of handling and disposal of contaminated land. Waste treatment which relies on physico-chemical processes is expensive and does not contribute to a circular model economy ideal. Although asbestos is a mineral substance, there are naturally occurring biological-mediated processes capable of degradation (such as bioweathering). Therefore, low energy options, such as bioremediation, for the treatment for asbestos contaminated soils are worth exploring. We outline evidence pointing to the ability of microbe and plant communities to remove from asbestos the iron that contributes to its carcinogenicity. Finally, we describe the potential for a novel concept of creating ecosystems over asbestos landfills ('activated landfills') that utilize nature's chelating ability to degrade this toxic product effectively.

Keywords: asbestos; bioremediation; carcinogenicity; hazardous waste treatment; waste minimisation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1 |
FIGURE 1 |
Scanning electron photomicrographs (SEM) of two members of amphibole and serpentine asbestos family, respectively (a) the crocidolite or blue asbestos (from Koegas, South Africa), and (b) the Canadian B chrysotile.
FIGURE 2 |
FIGURE 2 |
The four waves of asbestos-related diseases.
FIGURE 3 |
FIGURE 3 |
The locations of case studies involving asbestos removal and disposal in United States, Australia, and the Cook Islands.
FIGURE 4 |
FIGURE 4 |
A decontaminated Mr Fluffy home sprayed with a mixture of PVA and blue paint to bind any remaining loose fibres prior to removal to landfill.
FIGURE 5 |
FIGURE 5 |
Asbestos fibres in Ambler, PA. (A) Ambler ‘snow’ – asbestos uncovered by vegetation removal at Ambler Piles. (B) Piles of various asbestos contaminated waste from Rose Valley Creek Banks in Ambler. (C) The Bo-Rit ‘Asbestos Mountain’ circa 1960. Photographer: Joe Marincola (with permission from Greg Marincola); reproduced with permission from Springer, Inc. (Emmett and Cakouros, 2017; p. 116).
FIGURE 6 |
FIGURE 6 |
Activated landfill for testing the potential for the bioremediation of asbestos and asbestos contaminated waste.
FIGURE 7 |
FIGURE 7 |
The importance of the symbiosis between bacteria, fungi, and plants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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