Influence of firefighting fluorosynthetic film forming foam on soil microbocenosis
Authors: Khanik Y. O. , Zvir G. I. , Grynchyshyn N. M. 
Published: January 2024

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of over 5000 different chemicals that are used in a wide range of industrial applications and consumer products. Perfluoroalkyl substances have unique properties, such as high chemical stability and surface activity, which leads to their widespread use in medicine, science and everyday life. Aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) are complex proprietary formulations that contain percent levels of PFASs as well as solvents and hydrocarbon surfactants which, when combined, afford AFFF the functionality required for its purpose. Firefighting foams, such as AFFF, are used primarily to control fires involving flammable liquids such as fuel and oil. AFFF suppresses fire by producing a film over the fuel/oil fire that effectively starves the fire of oxygen. The carbon-fluorine bond makes these compounds extremely strong and stable. This chemical and thermal stability allows these substances to persist in the environment without breaking down. While biological effects of single PFAS have been studied, the effects of PFAS-containing mixtures, such as AFFF, are unknown. The environmental effects of firefighting foam pollutants are generally considered in terms of their toxicity and their biodegradability. Firefighting foams have been found to have a negative impact on the environment (e.g. can remove oxygen from aquatic environment in turn killing aquatic fauna). The effect of PFAS on the microorganisms is not sufficiently studied. To date, there are few studies on the structure and dynamics of microbes in the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Moreover, the results are contradictory. In this regard, it is important to study the impact of various PFAS chemicals on the microorganisms. The article presents the results of the effect study of a fluorosynthetic film forming foam, the main component of which is perfluorinated organic acid, on soil microorganisms, namely ammonifiers, oligonitrophils and nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, yeasts and molds, actinobacteria, and cellulose-degrading bacteria. It was accomplished by plating a sample of the soil that has been serially diluted in water and enumeration of colony forming units (CFU) per gram of soil. The number of soil microorganisms was counted two weeks and three months after contamination with a fluorosynthetic film forming foam. The control sample was unpolluted soil. The sample of soil (1.0 g) was mixed and suspended with a 10 ml of water in a tube for isolation and enumeration of microorganisms. The sample was shaken vigorously to separate organisms from the colloidal material surrounding soil particles. Obtained suspension was serially diluted from 10-2 to 10-6. Aliquot of each dilution was plated onto suitable agar medium. Meat-peptone agar, wort agar, starch-ammonia agar, ashby's agar and hutchinson's agar were used to isolate different groups of microorganisms from gray forest soil and to study the effect of film forming foam on them. The plates were incubated at 28 °C for 3–14 days and the results are expressed as CFU per gram of soil. Colonies of bacteria on meat-peptone agar and ashby's medium were counted after 3–4 days, yeasts and fungi on wort agar after 4–5 days and actinobacteria on starch-ammonia medium after 7–10 days. The number of colonies of cellulose-degrading microorganisms was counted after 14 days cultivation. Firefighting fluorosynthetic film forming foam led to the soil microbial community restructuring and a microbial diversity decrease. The study revealed a decrease the number of different groups of soil microorganisms two weeks after the pollution with the firefighting fluorosynthetic film forming foam, in particular ammonifiers by 2 times compared to the control, nitrogen-fixing microorganisms by 2.7 times, actinobacteria by 4.7 times, yeasts and fungi by 2.8 times. Three months after soil contamination with AFFF the number of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, actinobacteria, yeasts and fungi increased by 1.85, 1.2 and 2.6 times compared to the control respectively. The number of ammonifiers and cellulose-degrading microorganisms decreased by 1.7 and 5.0 times compared to the control respectively.