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Derivation of a Ni bioaccessibility value for screening-level risk assessment of Ni substances in ingested materials including soils

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Abstract

The objective of the present study was to derive a Ni bioaccessibility value for screening-level risk assessment of Ni substances in ingested materials including soils where multiple Ni substances are expected but not definitively identified. Broad ranges of Ni mass loading and dissolution time of a simple gastric assay were applied to pure Ni substances (removing the confounding factors of soil constituents on dissolution), thus broadening the applicability of the conclusions. The data were also used to support current knowledge of ‘read across’ for Ni substances. Release of Ni from pure manufactured Ni substances (Ni metal, NiO, NiSO4, Ni3S2, and NiS) was determined relative to Ni mass and substance surface area loading. Mass loadings ranged from 0.33 to 20.0 g Ni per L of 0.15 M HCl, and dissolution time ranged from 1 to 168 h. Proton exhaustion was indicated only at the highest loading (20 g/L) of NiO and Ni–M. Dissolution of substances other than NiSO4 was most likely limited by formation of intermediate products at the particle surface or particle agglomeration, impeding access to the principal Ni substance. The bioaccessibility of Ni for these substances was consistent with previously published data: substances other than NiSO4 were < 48% bioaccessible for a variety of gastric assays, which is much lower than all data for NiSO4, the usual reference substance. Thus, we suggest that Ni bioaccessibility data from gastric assays that are most relevant to human exposure can be relied upon to develop scientifically sound screening-level human health RA decisions for Ni contamination in soils and sediments in the absence of detailed Ni speciation.

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Acknowledgements

Financial and in-kind support for this work was provided by Vale Canada Ltd., the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (granted to BH), and the University of Guelph. Technical support was provided by P. Smith for the determination of trace element concentrations. The authors acknowledge with deep gratitude the very insightful comments of two anonymous reviewers, consideration of which during revision has greatly improved this manuscript.

Funding

Financial and in-kind support for this work was provided by Vale Canada Ltd., the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Granted to BH [Grant# CRDPJ 437221-12, 2012]), and the University of Guelph.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GEMTEC Consulting Engineers and Scientists Ltd, 32 Steacie Drive, Ottawa, ON, K2K 2A9, Canada

    Wilson Lau

  2. BPA Ltd, 8579 Appleby Line, Campbellville, ON, L0P 1B0, Canada

    Michael D. Dutton

  3. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road E, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Luba Vasiluk & Beverley Hale

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  1. Wilson Lau
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The work was conducted in partial fulfilment of a M.Sc. degree (WL), with the other authors providing intellectual contributions in support of the student’s progress during the execution of the work, and suggestions to the student in preparation of this manuscript. Beyond this involvement (which followed the university’s guidelines for graduate student supervision), the funders had no role in the study design, in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to submit the article for publication.

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Correspondence to Beverley Hale.

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Lau, W., Dutton, M.D., Vasiluk, L. et al. Derivation of a Ni bioaccessibility value for screening-level risk assessment of Ni substances in ingested materials including soils. Environ Geochem Health 44, 2563–2575 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-01048-0

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