Occurrence and risk assessment of emerging contaminants in a water reclamation and ecological reuse project

Abstract

Water reclamation and ecological reuse is gradually becoming a popular solution to address the high pollutant loads and insufficient ecological flow of many urban rivers. However, emerging contaminants in water reuse system and associated human health and ecological risks need to be assessed. This study determined the occurrence and human health and ecological risk assessments of 35 emerging contaminants during one year, including 5 types of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), 5 pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), 7 endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and 18 disinfection by-products (DBPs), in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and receiving rivers, as well as an unimpacted river for comparison. Results showed that most of PPCPs and EDCs, especially antibiotics, triclosan, estrogens and bisphenol A, occurred frequently at relatively high concentrations, and they were removed from 20.5% to 88.7% with a mean of 58.9% via WWTP. The highest potential noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks in different reuse scenarios were assessed using maximal detected concentrations, all below the acceptable risk limits, with the highest total combined risk value of 9.21 × 10 −9 and 9.98 × 10 −7 , respectively. Ecological risk assessment was conducted using risk quotient (RQ) method and indicated that several PPCPs, EDCs and haloacetonitriles (HANs) pose high risk (RQ N 1) to aquatic ecology in the rivers, with the highest RQ up to 83.8. The study suggested that ecological risks need to be urgently addressed by updating and optimizing the process in WWTPs to strengthen the removal efficiencies of emerging contaminants.

Water Security in a Changing Environment: Concept, Challenges and Solutions

“…To achieve this, all water users and stakeholders must be aware about the use of reclaimed water, its social acceptance, and pros and cons of using this reclaimed water [51]. However, in order to make this reuse more sustainable, a sound and scientific knowledge about the source of wastewater or treated saltwater, chemical composition, and its sectoral usage is most important [52]. For reducing the water usage, several innovative ways are already in practice such as smart monitoring to minimize nonrevenue loss of water, intelligent irrigation using agriculture engineering in the field, rainwater harvesting, financing urban water usage, water tariff, etc.…”

“…List of reviewed papers and their relation with seven different dimensions of water security. Small-island communities in the Philippines prefer local measures to relocation in response to sea-level rise Household, Resilience to water related disaster [51] Solutions to water resource scarcity: water reclamation and reuse Economic, Urban, Environmental [52] Occurrence and risk assessment of emerging contaminants in a water reclamation and ecological reuse project Environmental, Safe or desirable water quality [53] The potential of water reuse as a management option for water security under the ecosystem services approach Economic, Environmental, Safe or desirable water quality [54] Post-adaptation behaviour of farmers towards soil and water conservation technologies of watershed management in India Economic, Environmental [55] How is ecosystem health defined and measured? A critical review of freshwater and estuarine studies Economic, Environmental [56] Rivers as Socioecological Landscapes Environmental dimension [57] Connectivity in rivers Environmental dimension…”

Chronic toxicity and environmental risk assessment of antivirals in Ceriodaphnia dubia and Raphidocelis subcapitata

“…Risk assessment of emerging contaminants primarily focuses on their toxicity to aquatic organisms such as fish, algae and daphnia. It is urgent to assess the risks to human health associated with the various pharmaceutical products detected in reused water (Lin et al 2020). Studies show that these compounds can be toxic, and the risk to humans cannot be considered negligible (Prosser and Sibley, 2015).…”

Nuove tecnologie per la rimozione dei prodotti farmaceutici nelle acque reflue

“…Data may be preliminary. mozione nasce dalla valutazione del rischio che la loro presenza nelle acque comporta, soprattutto in termini di rischio ecologico 1 . Infatti, anche in concentrazioni minime (al di sotto dei μg/L), il loro potenziale tossico e inibitorio genera danni agli ecosistemi acquatici 23 e di conseguenza all'uomo.…”