Algorithm of lead concentration reduction in soil and in groundwater on construction sites of subway facilities using biological agents

Investigations concerned with bioremediation of lead-contaminated soil and groundwater has a practical relevance in construction of subway facilities, especially in industrial and environmentally neglected zones. Subway construction is often faced with soil and groundwater pollution, which calls for efficient and economic treatment solutions. Bioremediation using bacteria, in particular, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Rhizobium leguminosarum, allows: reduction of lead concentration in construction site ground by 35–50% and detoxication of the environment for workers and machines; improvement of ecological safety of construction, especially in tunneling and in infrastructural development of underground stations in high manmade pollution areas; cutting down of expenses as compared with the conventional remediation approaches such as excavation and removal of contaminated soil. Furthermore, phytoremediation using Rhizobium leguminosarum is applicable for the post-construction reclamation, including arrangement of green zones nearby metro stations. In this manner, bioremediation is a promising approach to solving environmental problems accompanying subway construction, with a potential of large-scale introduction after proper adaptation and field trials.

Sareu N. Yu. Algorithm of lead concentration reduction in soil and in groundwater on construction sites of subway facilities using biological agents. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2025;(11):64-74. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2025_11_0_64.

N.Yu. Sareu, Graduate Student, NUST MISIS, 119049, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: ksareu7777@mail.ru.

1. Zhukov S. A. Substantiation of environmental safety in metro facility operations considering hydrogeological risks. Mining Science and Technology (Russia). 2024, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 283—291. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.17073/2500-0632-2024-04-259.

2. Patra B., Das M. T., Pradhan S. N., Dash S. R., Bhuyan P. P., Pradhan B. Ferro-chrome pollution and its consequences on groundwater ecosystems and public health. Limnological Review. 2025, vol. 25, no. 2, article 23. DOI: 10.3390/limnolrev25020023.

3. Kulikova E. Yu., Balovtsev S. V., Skopintseva O. V. Comprehensive assessment of geoecological risks in conducting open and underground mining. Sustainable Development of Mountain Territories. 2024, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 205—216. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.21177/1998-4502-2024-16-1-205-216.

4. Yuliani E., Rubiantoro P., Nelvina A., Anggraeni V. Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution in the metro subwatershed area using the GOD method. Gema Wiralodra. 2024, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 693—699. DOI: 10.31943/gw.v15i2.687.

5. Kulikova E. Yu., Ivannikov A. L. The terms of soils removal from the defects of the underground structures’ lining. Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 2020, vol. 1425, no. 1, article 012062. DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/1425/1/012062.

6. Muhammad Farhan Adi Wibowo, Ferryati Masitoh Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution in the metro hilir watershed using the SINTACS method. IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science. 2024, vol. 1406, no. 1, article 012028. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/1406/1/012028.

7. Kulikova E. Yu. Assessment of operating environment of concrete lining of sewage collector tunnels. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 2019, vol. 687, no. 4, article 044035. DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/687/4/044035.

8. Sakaeva E., Rudakova L., Shchuklinа L. Microbiological assessment of the level of potting soil contamination in urban areas of metal cutting oils. Ecology and Industry of Russia. 2018, vol. 22, no. 10, pp. 34—37. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.18412/1816-0395-2018-10-34-37.

9. Mammadli E. Development of research on groundwater pollution and economic protection during well construction. Journal of Economics. 2025, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 25—32. DOI: 10.36719/31044727/3/25-32.

10. Semin A. N., Semyachkov A. I., Pochechun V. A., Kurdyumov A. V. Meth-odology for assessing economic damage to groundwater during hydraulic struc-tures operation. Sustainable Development of Mountain Territories. 2024, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 417—430. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.21177/1998-4502-2024-16-2-417-430.

11. Gao F., Zhao T., Zhu X., Zheng L., Wang W., Zheng X. Land subsidence characteristics and numerical analysis of the impact on major infrastructure in Ningbo, China. Sustainability. 2023, vol. 15, no. 1, article 543. DOI: 10.3390/su15010543.

12. Yuan Y., Qin Y., Zhang Y., Xie L., Meng X., Guo Z. Environmental risk source analysis and classification of zones: Subway construction. Applied Sciences. 2023, vol. 13, no. 10, article 5831. DOI: 10.3390/app13105831.

13. Kolandhasamy P., Elumalai S., Nandagopal S., Senthil Kumaran S., Rajendran R., Vinayagam R., Ramasamy P. A preliminary health risk assessment of heavy metal contamination in chembarambakkam lake, Tamil Nadu, South India. Water. 2024, vol. 16, no. 23, article 3517. DOI: 10.3390/ w16233517.

14. Mirzaeva E. I., Isaeva N. F., Yalgashev E. Ya., Turdiyeva D. P., Boymonov R. M. Preparation of adsorbents for the extraction of heavy metals from mining wastewater. Mining Science and Technology (Russia). 2025, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 45—55. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.17073/2500-0632-2024-02-224.

15. Fu L., Dong X., Shen H., Zhu T., Sun F. River ecosystem health assessment in rapid urbanization regions (Shenzhen, China) under the guidance of bioremediation objectives. Water. 2023, vol. 15, no. 21, article 3859. DOI: 10.3390/w15213859.

16. Belik E., Rudakova L. Use of the biosorbent based on the production waste in bioremediation technology of oily soils. Ecology and Industry of Russia. 2015, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 20—25. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.18412/1816-0395-2015-7-20-25.

17. Kim K., Oh E., Park S., Jeong J.-P., Jeon S., Lee S., Shin Y., Jung S. Enhanced rheological and structural properties of the exopolysaccharide from rhizobium leguminosarum VF39 through NTG mutagenesis. Polymers. 2024, vol. 16, no. 22, article 3179. DOI: 10.3390/polym16223179.

18. Zeng D., Jiao F., Yang Y., Dou S., Yu J., Yu X., Zhou Y., Xue J., Li X., Duan H. Myricetin potentiates antibiotics against resistant pseudomonas aeruginosa by disrupting biofilm formation and inhibiting motility through FimX-Mediated c-di-GMP signaling interference. Biology. 2025, vol. 14, no. 7, article 859. DOI: 10.3390/biology14070859.

19. Kulikova A. A., Khabarova E. I. Biological working agents use to reduce the carbon footprint. Sustainable Development of Mountain Territories. 2024, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 311—321. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.21177/1998-4502-2024-16-1-311-321.

20. Dzhumagulova N. T., Gavrilov I. E., Nguyen Dinh Dap. Studying species composition of microorganisms performing wastewater treatment. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Assets Engineering. 2019, vol. 330, no. 9, pp. 195—203. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.18799/24131830/2019/9/2273.