Major Reports - Assessment/Prioritization - Tracers - Source Models - Peripheral Literature
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| Anderson, P., Denslow, N., Drewes, J.E., Olivieri, A., Schlenk, D., Scott, G.I. and Snyder, S. (2012) Monitoring Strategies for Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs) in California's Aquatic Ecosystem, Costa Mesa, CA. |
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Diamond, J., Thornton, K., Munkittrick, K., Kidd, K., Bartell, S. and Kapo, K. (2011) Diagnostic Tools to Evaluate Impacts of Trace Organic Compounds, Water Environment Research Foundation, Alexandria, VA. |
With the recent advent of improved analytical and biomarker detection capabilities, a variety of organic chemicals have been found in trace amounts (Trace Organic Chemicals, TOrCs) in surface waters and fish tissue. TOrCs include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, surfactants, pesticides, flame retardants, and other organic chemicals, some with unknown modes of action or effects. Identifying or predicting ecological effects of TOrCs in typical aquatic multi-stressor situations is challenging, requiring a variety of epidemiological tools that together, can diagnose effects at multiple scales of ecological organization. The goal of this research is to provide information on TOrCs to help the water quality community make scientifically defensible and cost effective decisions that are appropriately protective of aquatic populations and communities. Five objectives were addressed in this research: 1) develop and apply a procedure to prioritize which TOrCs are of most concern; 2) develop and test a conceptual site screening framework to determine if sites are or could be affected by TOrCs; 3) evaluate and test diagnostic approaches to identify potential risks due to TOrCs using various case studies; 4) develop a relational database and user interface with which the water resource community can enter, store, and search TOrC exposure and occurrence data in the U.S.; and 5) foster partnerships and transfer knowledge gained in this research to the water quality community. TOrC fate, effects, and occurrence data were compiled in a database for over 500 organic chemicals based on over 100 published studies representing more than 50 organizations and 700 sites. Alternative risk-based prioritization processes and draft lists of high priority TOrCs were developed. A preliminary site screening and diagnostic framework was developed and evaluated using seven different case study sites. EPA’s causal analysis (stressor identification) procedures, Canada’s Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) procedure, the ecosystem model CASM (Comprehensive Aquatic System Model), and several other specialized diagnostic tools were used and evaluated. A relational database based on Tetra Tech’s EDAS2 was developed using the Microsoft platform. The modified version of EDAS2, built on the EPA WQX data model, provides web-based data queries using a combination of tabular data for downloads and a visual map interface that allows the user to view, query, and select sites from the map having chemical or biological data. This final report summarizes all approaches used and results obtained in this research; discusses critical data gaps and other important uncertainties, and provides testable hypotheses and recommendations for Phase 2 testing and analyses. | |
| Snyder, S.A., Trenholm, R.A., Snyder, E.M., Bruce, G.M., Pleus, R.C. and Hemming, J.D.C. (2008) Toxicological Relevance of EDCs and Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water, AWWA Research Foundation, Denver. #3085 | Selection of 62 compounds evaluated for liklihood of occurrence, production volume, toxicity and analytical capability. Atenolol, Atorvastatin, etc. | |
| Snyder, S.A., Vanderford, B.J., Drewes, J.E., Dickenson, E., Snyder, E.M., Bruce, G.M. and Pleus, R.C. (2008) State of Knowledge of Endocrine Disruptors and Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water, AWWA Research Foundation, Denver, CO. | ||
| Drewes, J.E., Sedlak, D., Snyder, S. and Dickenson, E. (2008) Development of Indicators and Surrogates for Chemical Contaminant during Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation, Water Reuse Foundation, Alexandria VA. |
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| Dickenson, E.R.V., Snyder, S.A., Sedlak, D.L. and Drewes, J.E. (2011) Indicator compounds for assessment of wastewater effluent contributions to flow and water quality. Water Research 45(3), 1199-1212. | Numerous studies have reported the presence of trace (i.e., ng/L) organic chemicals in municipal wastewater effluents, but it is unclear which compounds will be useful to evaluate the contribution of effluent to overall river flow or the attenuation processes that occur in receiving streams. This paper presents a new approach that uses a suite of common trace organic chemicals as indicators to assess the degree of impact and attenuation of trace organic chemicals in receiving streams. The utility of the approach was validated by effluent monitoring at ten wastewater treatment plants and two effluent-impacted rivers with short retention times (<17 h). A total of 56 compounds were particularly well suited as potential indicators, occurring frequently in effluent samples at concentrations that were at least five times higher than their limit of quantification. Monitoring data from two effluent-impacted rivers indicated that biotransformation was not important for these two river stretches, whereas photolysis attenuation was possibly important for the shallow river. The application of this approach to receiving waters and water reclamation and reuse systems will allow for more effective allocation of resources in future monitoring programs. | |
| Drewes, J.E., McDonald, J.A., Trinh, T., Storey, M.V. and Khan, S.J. (2011) Chemical monitoring strategy for the assessment of advanced water treatment plant performance. Water Science and Technology 63(3), 573-579. | A pilot-scale plant was employed to validate the performance of a proposed full-scale advanced water treatment plant (AWTP) in Sydney, Australia. The primary aim of this study was to develop a chemical monitoring program that can demonstrate proper plant operation resulting in the removal of priority chemical constituents in the product water. The feed water quality to the pilot plant was tertiary-treated effluent from a wastewater treatment plant. The unit processes of the AWTP were comprised of an integrated membrane system (ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis) followed by final chlorination generating a water quality that does not present a source of human or environmental health concern. The chemical monitoring program was undertaken over 6 weeks during pilot plant operation and involved the quantitative analysis of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, steroidal hormones, industrial chemicals, pesticides, N-nitrosamines and halomethanes. The first phase consisted of baseline monitoring of target compounds to quantify influent concentrations in feed waters to the plant. This was followed by a period of validation monitoring utilising indicator chemicals and surrogate measures suitable to assess proper process performance at various stages of the AWTP. This effort was supported by challenge testing experiments to further validate removal of a series of indicator chemicals by reverse osmosis. This pilot-scale study demonstrated a simplified analytical approach that can be employed to assure proper operation of advanced water treatment processes and the absence of trace organic chemicals. | |
| Stanford, B.D., Snyder, S.A., Trenholm, R.A., Holady, J.C. and Vanderford, B.J. (2010) Estrogenic activity of US drinking waters: A relative exposure comparison. Journal American Water Works Association 102(11), 55-65. |
This study demonstrates a relative exposure to estrogenic activity and other trace contaminants in drinking water compared with food beverage and air exposure Drinking water for nearly 28 million people in 17 US cities plus 40 food and beverage items was screened for 51 trace contaminants including suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) pharmaceuticals personal care products pesticides phytoestrogens and total in vitro estrogenic activity Only three drinking water samples exhibited measurable estrogenic activity (0 19-077 ng/L as estradiol equivalents) whereas 34 of the 40 food and beverage items had measurable estrogenic activity (median estradiol equivalents, 0 55-4,200 ng/L) On an adult, per serving basis food and beverage intake of estrogenic activity was 4-21,000 times greater than in municipal drinking water Of the literature studies available air exposure for six suspected EDCs analyzed in this study resulted in at least 30-36 000 times the exposure from drinking water | |
| Eaton, A., Haghani, A., Wilson, E. and Hsieh, W. (2010) On the Use of Multiple Indicators for Impaired Waters, Water Reuse Proceedings. | MWH has developed a broad spectrum on-line preconcentration method to measure over 80 herbicides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and hormones in a single analysis at levels of 10 ppt or below. This analytical method has been applied to analysis of over 200 wastewater effluents and municipal drinking water influents and effluents from across North America, in addition to several recycled water projects. Additionally an approach to identify a gadolinium anomaly in water (associated with MRI) has been developed and measured in some of the same samples to determine whether gadolinium anomalies provide a more cost effective approach to identify the most persistent indicators. | |
| Dickenson, E.R.V., Drewes, J.E., Sedlak, D.L., Wert, E.C. and Snyder, S.A. (2009) Applying Surrogates and Indicators to Assess Removal Efficiency of Trace Organic Chemicals during Chemical Oxidation of Wastewaters. Environmental Science & Technology 43(16), 6242-6247. | To respond to concerns associated with wastewater-derived contaminants water utilities are looking for new approaches for monitoring trace organic chemicals in conventional and advanced water treatment processes. This study examines the use of a combination of surrogate parameters and indicator Compounds tailored to monitor the removal efficiency of advanced oxidation processes employed by treatment plants engaged in indirect potable water reuse programs. Potential surrogate parameters and indicator compounds, identified by reviewing previous publications and classified by their structural properties, were tested in pilot- and full-scale treatment systems. Dilantin, DEET, meprobamate, and iopromide are good indicators to assess optimized oxidation conditions while ozonating tertiary-treated wastewaters. UVA reduction, ozone byproduct formation, such as simple organic acids, and ozone exposure correlated with "sweet spot" compounds, where ozone exposure correlated with trace organic removal across five tertiary-treated wastewaters. Findings indicate that the proposed framework can serve as a conservative monitoring approach for advanced oxidation processes as well as other indirect potable reuse processes to ensure proper removal of identified and unidentified wastewater-derived organic contaminants, to detect failures in system performance, and is protective of public health. |
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| Wiklund, A.K.E., Breitholtz, M., Bengtsson, B.E. and Adolfsson-Erici, M. (2012) Sucralose - An ecotoxicological challenger? Chemosphere 86(1), 50-55. | The non-calorie sweetener sucralose - sucrose containing three chlorine atoms - is intensively sweet and has become a popular substitute for sugar. Its widespread use, exceptional stability in combination with high water solubility have thus resulted in contamination of recipient waters. Earlier studies on sucralose in aquatic organisms indicate low bioaccumulation potential and negligible acute/chronic toxicity, but the close structural resemblance with sucrose in combination with the importance of sugar in nature, warrant a more detailed ecotoxicological assessment. The aim of this investigation was therefore to study behavioural and physiological effects of sucralose in crustaceans. Our results show that both physiology and locomotion behaviour were affected by exposure to sucralose. In Daphnia magna, the behavioural response was manifested as altered swimming height and increased swimming speed, whereas in gammarids the time to reach food and shelter was prolonged. Regardless if these behavioural responses were initiated via traditional toxic mechanisms or stimulatory effects, they should be considered as a warning, since exposed organisms may diverge from normal behaviour, which ultimately can have ecological consequences. | |
| Soh, L., Connors, K.A., Brooks, B.W. and Zimmerman, J. (2011) Fate of Sucralose through Environmental and Water Treatment Processes and Impact on Plant Indicator Species. Environmental Science & Technology 45(4), 1363-1369. |
The degradation and partitioning of sucralose during exposure to a variety of environmental and advanced treatment processes (ATP) and the effect of sucralose on indicator plant species were systematically assessed. Bench scale experiments were used to reproduce conditions from environmental processes (microbial degradation, hydrolysis, soil sorption) and ATPs (chlorination, ozonation, sorption to activated carbon, and UV radiation). Degradation only occurred to a limited extent during hydrolysis, ozonation, and microbial processes indicating that breakdown of sucralose will likely be slow and incomplete leading to accumulation in surface waters. Further, the persistence of sucralose was compared to suggested human tracer compounds, caffeine and acesulfame-K. In comparison sucralose exhibits similar or enhanced characteristics pertaining to persistence, prevalence, and facile detection and can therefore be considered an ideal tracer for anthropogenic activity. Ecological effects of sucralose were assessed by measuring sucrose uptake inhibition in plant cotelydons and aquatic plant growth impairment. Sucralose did not inhibit plant cotelydon sucrose uptake, nor did it effect frond number, wet weight, or growth rate in aquatic plant, Lemna gibba. Though sucralose does not appear toxic to plant growth, the peristent qualities of sucralose may lead to chronic low-dose exposure with largely unknown consequences for human and environmental health. | |
| Van Stempvoort, D.R., Robertson, W.D. and Brown, S.J. (2011) Artificial Sweeteners in a Large Septic Plume. Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation 31(4), 95-102. | Four artificial sweeteners, acesulfame, sucralose, cyclamate, and saccharin were detected in a large septic plume at Long Point, Ontario, Canada. The pattern of sweetener detections in the groundwater indicated that they were derived from waste water seepage from a large septic system at the site. Acesulfame was pervasive in the septic plume, whereas the other three sweeteners have been attenuated, probably by microbial degradation. | |
| Mawhinney, D.B., Young, R.B., Vanderford, B.J., Borch, T. and Snyder, S.A. (2011) Artificial Sweetener Sucralose in U.S. Drinking Water Systems. Environmental Science & Technology 45(20), 8716-8722. | The artificial sweetener sucralose has recently been shown to be a widespread of contaminant of wastewater, surface water, and groundwater. In order to understand its occurrence in drinking water systems, water samples from 19 United States (U.S.) drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) serving more than 28 million people were analyzed for sucralose using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Sucralose was found to be present in source water of 15 out of 19 DWTPs (47-2900 ng/L), finished water of 13 out of 17 DWTPs (49-2400 ng/L) and distribution system water of 8 out Of the 12 DWTPs (48-2400 ng/L) tested. Sucralose was only found to be present in source waters with known wastewater influence and/or recreational usage, and displayed low removal (12% average) in the DWTPs where finished water was sampled. Further, in the subset of DWTPs with distribution system water sampled, the compound was found to persist regardless of the presence of residual chlorine or chloramines. In order to understand intra-DWTP consistency, sucralose was monitored at one drinking water treatment plant over an 11 month period from March 2010 through January 2011, and averaged 440 ng/L in the source water and 350 ng/L in the finished water. The results of this study confirm that sucralose will function well as an indicator compound for anthropogenic influence on source, finished drinking and distribution system (i.e., tap) water, as well as an indicator compound for the presence of other recalcitrant compounds in finished drinking water in the U.S. | |
| Gur-Reznik, S., Azerrad, S.P., Levinson, Y., Heller-Grossman, L. and Dosoretz, C.G. (2011) Iodinated contrast media oxidation by nonthermal plasma: The role of iodine as a tracer. Water Research 45(16), 5047-5057. | The oxidation of trace pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater desalination streams by nonthermal plasma (NTP) was evaluated. Brines from a two stage-RO pilot plant process as well as two sources of tertiary effluents, ultrafiltrated secondary effluents and membrane biological reactor effluents, were comparatively tested with ultra-pure water. The nonionic and ionic iodinated contrast media (ICM) compounds, iopromide (IOPr) and diatrizoate (DTZ), respectively, were used as model compounds. The neurostabilizer drug carbamazepine (CBZ) was used for reference purposes. Based on deiodination profiles, two distinct patterns of initial oxidation could be established for the ICM. The time profile of deiodination and transformation paralleled for DTZ, indicating that transformation of the aromatic ring is the main initial pattern of transformation. For IOPr, a considerable lag phase of deiodination was observed, suggesting that oxidation of the alkyl chains rather than ring oxidation is the main pattern of initial transformation. Although transformation rate of IOPr was higher compared to DTZ, the rate and degree of deiodination was higher for DTZ than IOPr. Both ICM displayed a markedly lower susceptibility to NTP oxidation compared to CBZ. However, the kinetics of IOPr transformation seems to be less affected by the water matrixes, compared to DTZ and CBZ. Whereas NTP mediated oxidation of ICM followed first-order kinetics, a better fit to Harris model was found for CBz. As a result of the NTP oxidation, treated brines and effluents displayed a substantial increase in biodegradability (measured as BOD). |
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| Wise, A., O'Brien, K. and Woodruff, T. (2011) Are Oral Contraceptives a Significant Contributor to the Estrogenicity of Drinking Water? Environmental Science & Technology 45(1), 51-60. Comment. |
Recent observed feminization of aquatic animals has raised concerns about estrogenic compounds in water supplies and the potential for these chemicals to reach drinking water. Public perception frequently attributes this feminization to oral contraceptives (OCs) in wastewater and raises concerns that exposure to OCs in drinking water may contribute to the recent rise in human reproductive problems. This paper reviews the literature regarding various sources of estrogens, in surface, source and drinking water, with an emphasis on the active molecule that comes from OCs. It includes discussion of the various agricultural, industrial, and municipal sources and outlines the contributions of estrogenic chemicals to the estrogenicity of waterways and estimates that the risk of exposure to synthetic estrogens in drinking water on human health is negligible. This paper also provides recommendations for strategies to better understand all the potential sources of estrogenic compounds in the environment and possibilities to reduce the levels of estrogenic chemicals in the water supply. | |
| Phillips, P.J., Smith, S.G., Kolpin, D.W., Zaugg, S.D., Buxton, H.T., Furlong, E.T., Esposito, K. and Stinson, B. (2010) Pharmaceutical Formulation Facilities as Sources of Opioids and Other Pharmaceuticals to Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents. Environmental Science & Technology 44(13), 4910-4916. | Facilities involved in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products are an under-investigated source of pharmaceuticals to the environment Between 2004 and 2009, 35 to 38 effluent samples were collected from each of three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in New York and analyzed for seven pharmaceuticals including opioids and muscle relaxants. Two WWTPs (NY2 and NY3) receive substantial flows (>20% of plant flow) from pharmaceutical formulation facilities (PFF) and one (NY1) receives no PFF flow. Samples of effluents from 23 WWTPs across the United States were analyzed once for these pharmaceuticals as part of a national survey. Maximum pharmaceutical effluent concentrations for the national survey and NY1 effluent samples were generally <1 mu g/L. Four pharmaceuticals (methadone, oxycodone, butalbital, and metaxalone) in samples of NY3 effluent had median concentrations ranging from 3.4 to >400 mu g/L. Maximum concentrations of oxycodone (1700 mu g/L) and metaxalone (3800 mu g/L) in samples from NY3 effluent exceeded 1000 mu g/L Three pharmaceuticals (butalbital, carisoprodol, and oxycodone) in samples of NY2 effluent had median concentrations ranging from 2 to 11 mu g/L. These findings suggest that current manufacturing practices at these PFFs can result in pharmaceuticals concentrations from 10 to 1000 times higher than those typically found in WWTP effluents. | |
| Ottmar, K.J., Colosi, L.M. and Smith, J.A. (2010) Development and Application of a Model to Estimate Wastewater Treatment Plant Prescription Pharmaceutical Influent Loadings and Concentrations. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 84(5), 507-512. | A mass balance model was developed to estimate prescription pharmaceutical loadings to municipal wastewater treatment plants via computation of influent concentrations (C (IN)). Model estimates of C (IN) were compared with published data and found to be accurate within an order of magnitude for some 90% of the drugs evaluated. The model was then used to rank prescription drugs on a per-capita mass loading basis for comparison with current research efforts and coupled with two EPISuite ((TM)) programs to generate estimates for environmental exposure. Results showed marked discrepancies between prescription numbers, loadings, exposures, and research conducted, as highlighted by the drug metformin, with the largest projected loading to treatment plants (> 28 g per 1,000 people/day), yet only ranking 12th in terms of prescription numbers and no environmental research articles. |
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| Wise, A., O'Brien, K. and Woodruff, T. Are Oral Contraceptives a Significant Contributor to the Estrogenicity of Drinking Water? Environmental Science & Technology 45(1), 51-60. Comment 45(17), 7605-7605. | Recent observed feminization of aquatic animals has raised concerns about estrogenic compounds in water supplies and the potential for these chemicals to reach drinking water. Public perception frequently attributes this feminization to oral contraceptives (OCs) in wastewater and raises concerns that exposure to OCs in drinking water may contribute to the recent rise in human reproductive problems. This paper reviews the literature regarding various sources of estrogens, in surface, source and drinking water, with an emphasis on the active molecule that comes from OCs. It includes discussion of the various agricultural, industrial, and municipal sources and outlines the contributions of estrogenic chemicals to the estrogenicity of waterways and estimates that the risk of exposure to synthetic estrogens in drinking water on human health is negligible. This paper also provides recommendations for strategies to better understand all the potential sources of estrogenic compounds in the environment and possibilities to reduce the levels of estrogenic chemicals in the water supply. | |
| Wu, M. and Janssen, S. Dosed Without Prescription (2011) A Framework for Preventing Pharmaceutical Contamination of Our Nation's Drinking Water. Environmental Science & Technology 45(2), 366-367. |
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