A Novel Wild-Land Fire-Fighting Foam for Minimizing the Phytotoxicity of Wood Burning-Derived Smoke Tested in Living Plant Cells

Abstract:

Impact of wild-land fires to the ecosystem is highly complex. Damages to the ecosystem can be attributed not only to the direct impact of fire and release of toxic post-combustion gasses but also to the spraying of fire-fighting chemicals. Fire-fighting foam (FFF) agents are frequently applied for controls in wild-land fires including forest fire. However, effects of FFFs on the composition of the post-combustion gasses and the phytotoxicity of smoke derived from burning woods have not been determined to date. In the present study, with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), we have analyzed the chemical composition of the gasses derived from wood slices exposed to two distinct manners of combustion, namely, smoldering (gradual combustion without flame) and rapid burning (combustion with flame). Tested samples include slices of Japanese cedar, Japanese cypress, and Western hemlock. The amount of hydrocarbons, detected in the post-combustion gas such as methane, ethane, ethylene, propane, hexane, formaldehyde, acrolein and phenol, were higher in the gasses from smoldered samples. The major hydrocarbon found in the post-combustion gases processed in the presence of pilot flame was methane. Other hydrocarbons were hardly detectable. Addition of FFFs, namely, a soap-based FFF (designated as MK-08) and a detergent co cocktail-based FFF (Phos-chek) onto wooden slices resulted in slight increase in other hydrocarbons in the gasses derived from flame-driven combustion of wood slices. Interestingly, addition of Phos-chek drastically elevated the phytotoxicity of post-combustion gas derived from Western hemlock slices heated in the presence of pilot flame when assessed using the suspension cultured tobacco cells. In contrast, the soap-based FFF tested here did not alter the phytotoxicity of the post-combustion gasses, suggesting that soap-based FFF might minimize the impact of the fire-fighting activity to the living plants consisting the ecosystem in the forests and wild-land.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volumes 875-877)
• Pages: 725-733
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.875-877.725
• Online since: February 2014
• Authors: Atsuko Noriyasu, Kohei Otsuka, Yuki Ishizaki, Yutaka Tanaike, Ken Matsuyama, Kazuya Uezu, Tomonori Kawano
• Keywords: Ecotoxicity, Fire Control, Forest Fire, FT-IR, Nicotiana tabacum L.

References

[1] USDA Forest Service, Wildland fire suppression, In: Ecological Risk Assessment, USDA Forest Service, USA (1994).

[2] H. Mizuki, K. Uezu, T. Kawano, T. Kadono, M. Kobayashi, S. Hatae, Y. Oba, S. Iwamoto, S. Mitsumune, M. Owari, Y. Ngatomo, H. Umeki and K. Yamaga, Novel environmental friendly soap-based fire-fighting agent, J. Environ. Eng. Manag. Vol. 17 (2007).

[3] H. Mizuki, M. Toyomura, K. Uezu, H. Yasui, T. Kawano, I. Akiba, T. Kawahara, S. Hatae, N. Sakamoto, M. Akiyama, C. Mizota, H. Umeki and K. Yamaga, Microbial degradation of a soap-based fire-fighting agent in activated sludge, J. Environ. Eng. Manag. Vol. 20 (2010).

[4] C. Lin, T. Kadono, K. Yoshizuka, K. Uezu and T. Kawano, Assessing the eco-toxicity of novel soap-based fire-fighting foam using medaka fish (Oryzias latipes, Red-orange variety) adopted to river and sea water conditions, ITE Letters Vol. 7 (2006).

[5] T. Kawano, C. Lin, T. Kadono and K. Uezu, Ecological risk assessment of fire-fighting chemicals using medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) in different water conditions, ITE Letters Vol. 8 (2007), pp.306-311.

[6] T. Kadono, K. Uezu, T. Kosaka and T. Kawano, Altered toxicities of fatty acid salts in green paramecia cultured in different waters, Z. Naturforsch. Vol. 61c (2006), pp.541-547.

DOI: 10.1515/znc-2006-7-812

[7] T. Kadono, K. Uezu and T. Kawano, Confirming the altered toxicities of fatty acid salts in Paramecium caudatum cultured in different waters, ITE Letters Vol. 7 (2006), pp.606-609.

DOI: 10.1515/znc-2006-7-812

[8] T. Kawano, T. Kadono, N. Matsuoka, T. Tamura and K. Uezu, Development of soap-based fire-fighting agents less toxic to germinating rice (Oryza sativa L. ) seeds, ITE Letters Vol. 8 (2007), pp.596-600.

[9] T. Kawano, T. Kadono, N. Matsuoka, T. Tamura and K. Uezu, Possible ecological risk assessment of commercial fire-fighting foams using germinating rice (Oryza sativa L. ) seeds, ITE Letters Vol. 7 (2006), pp.379-382.

[10] D. L. Larson, W. E. Newton, P. J. Anderson and S. J. Stein, Effects of fire retardant chemical and fire suppressant foam on shrub steppe vegetation in northern Nevada, Intern. J. Wildland Fire Vol. 9 (1999), pp.115-127.

DOI: 10.1071/wf00013

[11] M. Yukihiro, T. Hiramatsu and T. Kawano, Lethal impacts of cigarette smoke in cultured tobacco cells, Tobacco Induced Disease Vol. 9 (2011), 8 (doi: 10. 1186/1617-9625-9-8).

DOI: 10.1186/1617-9625-9-8

[12] T. Kadono, Y. Yamaguchi, T. Furuichi, M. Hirono, J.P. Garrec and T. Kawano, Ozone-induced cell death mediated with oxidative and calcium signaling pathways in tobacco Bel-W3 and Bel-B cell suspension cultures, Plant Signal. Behav. Vol. 1 (2006).

DOI: 10.4161/psb.1.6.3518

[13] T. Kadono, D. Tran, R. Errakhi, T. Hiramatsu, P. Meimoun, J. Briand, M. Iwaya-Inoue, T. Kawano and F. Bouteau, Increased anion channel activity is an unavoidable event in ozone-induced programmed cell death, PLoS One Vol. 5 (2010).

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013373

[14] M. Yukihiro, T. Hiramatsu, F. Bouteau, T. Kadono and T. Kawano, Peroxyacetyl nitrate-induced oxidative and calcium signaling events leading to cell death in ozone-sensitive tobacco cell-line, Plant Signal. Behav. Vol. 7 (2012), pp.113-120.

DOI: 10.4161/psb.7.1.18376