Surface Water and Groundwater Quality in South Africa and Mozambique—Analysis of the Most Critical Pollutants for Drinking Purposes and Challenges in Water Treatment Selection

According to a recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO), the countries which still have limited access to water for drinking purposes are mainly those in the Sub‐Saharan region. In this context, the current study provides an overview of the quality of surface water and groundwater in rural and peri‐urban areas of the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and Mozambique (MZ) in terms of concentrations of conventional pollutants, inorganic chemicals, microorganisms, and micropollutants. Their values were compared with the drinking water standards available for the two countries. Regarding surface water, it was found that microorganisms occur at high concentrations; nickel (RSA) and boron (MZ) are other critical parameters. Regarding groundwater, arsenic and lead (RSA) and boron, sodium, and chloride (MZ) are the main critical substances. With regard to micropollutants, their surface water concentrations are much higher than those in European rivers. The highest values were for ibuprofen, acetylsalicylic acid, clozapine, and estriol. Suitable treatment is necessary to produce safe water depending on the main critical pollutants but, at the same time, action should be taken to improve wastewater treatment in rural areas to improve and safeguard surface water bodies and groundwater which are sources for drinking need

Water treatment plants and pharmaceutical residues in Catalonia and Italy

This study analyses the occurrence of commonly administered pharmaceuticals in urban and treated wastewater and surface waters in Catalonia and Italy, reviewing recently published investigations. The reported removal efficiencies in common municipal wastewater treatment plants are also discussed and pharmaceutical load discharged after these treatments are analysed. Finally, environmental risk posed by the presence of some of these compounds in surface water is discussed, and a case study highlighting the issue of pharmaceutical residues in the environment is presented. [Contrib Sci 10:135-150 (2014)

Electrochemical disinfection of groundwater for civil use – An example of an effective endogenous advanced oxidation process

Lab-scale experiments using real groundwater were carried out using the CabECO® reactor system in order to evaluate its suitability for producing safe water, acceptable for civil purposes. Trials were carried out in discontinuous and in continuous mode, analyzing the influence of electrical and hydraulic process parameters on the quality of treated water. The use of highly boron-doped diamond electrodes in the reactor allowed the electrosynthesis of considerable amounts of ozone. Because of the relatively high amount of chloride in the groundwater samples, a mixture of HOCl/ClO- was also synthesized. Somewhat unexpectedly, the increase in the current density in the explored range 100 -1000 A m-2 was accompanied by an increase in the faradaic yield of the electrosynthesis of oxidants, which was more pronounced for ozone than for free chlorine. As reported in literature, the main radical intermediate in the relevant reactions is ●OH, which can lead to different oxidation products, namely ozone and HOCl/ClO-. The electrolytic treatment also caused a decrease in the concentration of minor components, including NH4+ and Br-. Other byproducts were ClO3- and ClO4-, although their concentration levels were low. Moreover, due to alkali formation at the cathode surface, the precipitation of calcium and magnesium carbonates was also observed. In addition, the experimental investigation showed that even Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Legionella could be completely removed in the treated stream, due to the unique capacity of the reactor to synthesize biocidal agents like ozone, HOCl/ClO-, and chloramines. These effects were particularly evident during batch experiments.Lab-scale experiments using real groundwater were carried out using the CabECO® reactor system in order to evaluate its suitability for producing safe water, acceptable for civil purposes. Trials were carried out in discontinuous and in continuous mode, analyzing the influence of electrical and hydraulic process parameters on the quality of treated water. The use of highly boron-doped diamond electrodes in the reactor allowed the electrosynthesis of considerable amounts of ozone. Because of the relatively high amount of chloride in the groundwater samples, a mixture of HOCl/ClO− was also synthesized. Somewhat unexpectedly, the increase in the current density in the explored range 100–1000 A m−2 was accompanied by an increase in the faradaic yield of the electrosynthesis of oxidants, which was more pronounced for ozone than for free chlorine. As reported in literature, the main radical intermediate in the relevant reactions is [rad]OH, which can lead to different oxidation products, namely ozone and HOCl/ClO−. The electrolytic treatment also caused a decrease in the concentration of minor components, including NH4+ and Br−. Other byproducts were ClO3− and ClO4−, although their concentration levels were low. Moreover, due to alkali formation at the cathode surface, the precipitation of calcium and magnesium carbonates was also observed. In addition, the experimental investigation showed that even Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Legionella could be completely removed in the treated stream, due to the unique capacity of the reactor to synthesize biocidal agents like ozone, HOCl/ClO−, and chloramines. These effects were particularly evident during batch experiments

Bacterio-plankton transformation of diazepam and 2-amino-5-chlorobenzophenone in river waters.

Benzodiazepines are a large class of commonly-prescribed drugs used to treat a variety of clinical disorders. They have been shown to produce ecological effects at environmental concentrations, making understanding their fate in aquatic environments very important. In this study, uptake and biotransformations by riverine bacterio-plankton of the benzodiazepine, diazepam, and 2-amino-5-chlorobenzophenone, ACB (a photo-degradation product of diazepam and several other benzodiazepines), were investigated using batch microcosm incubations. These were conducted using water and bacterio-plankton populations from contrasting river catchments (Tamar and Mersey, UK), both in the presence and absence of a peptide, added as an alternative organic substrate. Incubations lasted 21 days, reflecting the expected water residence time in the catchments. In River Tamar water, 36% of diazepam (p < 0.001) was removed when the peptide was absent. In contrast, there was no removal of diazepam when the peptide was added, although the peptide itself was consumed. For ACB, 61% was removed in the absence of the peptide, and 84% in its presence (p < 0.001 in both cases). In River Mersey water, diazepam removal did not occur in the presence or absence of the peptide, with the latter again consumed, while ACB removal decreased from 44 to 22% with the peptide present. This suggests that bacterio-plankton from the Mersey water degraded the peptide in preference to both diazepam and ACB. Biotransformation products were not detected in any of the samples analysed but a significant increase in ammonium concentration (p < 0.038) was measured in incubations with ACB, confirming mineralization of the amine substituent. Sequential inoculation and incubation of Mersey and Tamar microcosms, for 5 periods of 21 days each, did not produce any evidence of increased ability of the microbial community to remove ACB, suggesting that an indigenous consortium was probably responsible for its metabolism. As ACB degradation was consistent, we propose that the aquatic photo-degradation of diazepam to ACB, followed by mineralization of ACB, is a primary removal pathway for these emerging contaminants. As ACB is photo-produced by several benzodiazepines, this pathway should be relevant for the removal of other benzodiazepines that enter the freshwater environment

Quantitative and qualitative approaches for CEC prioritization when reusing reclaimed water for irrigation needs – A critical review

The use of reclaimed water for irrigation is an option that is becoming increasingly widespread to alleviate water scarcity and to cope with drought. However, reclaimed water, if used for irrigation, may introduce Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) into the agroecosystems, which may be taken up by the crops and subsequently enter the food chain. The number of CECs is steadily increasing due to their continuous introduction on the market for different uses. There is an urgent need to draw up a short list of potential high priority CECs, which are substances that could be taken up by plants and accumulated in food produce, and/or that could have negative effects on human health and the environment. This review presents and discusses the approaches developed to prioritize CECs when reclaimed water is (re-)used for irrigation. They are divided into quantitative methodologies, which estimate the risk for environmental compartments (soil and water), predators and humans through equations, and qualitative methodologies, which are instead conceptual frameworks or procedures based on the simultaneous combination of data/information/practices with the judgment of experts. Three antibiotics (erythromycin, sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin), one estrogen (17-α ethinylestradiol) and one analgesic (ibuprofen) were found on at least two priority lists, although comparison among studies is still difficult. The review remarks that it is advisable to harmonize the different methodologies in order to identify the priority CECs to include in monitoring programs in reclaimed water reuse projects and to ensure a high level of protection for humans and the environment

Continuous fungal treatment of non-sterile veterinary hospital effluent: pharmaceuticals removal and microbial community assessment

Source point treatment of effluents with a high load of pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs), such as hospital wastewater, is a matter of discussion among the scientific community. Fungal treatments have been reported to be successful in degrading this type of pollutants and, therefore, the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor was applied for the removal of PhACs from veterinary hospital wastewater. Sixty-six percent removal was achieved in a non-sterile batch bioreactor inoculated with T. versicolor pellets. On the other hand, the study of microbial communities by means of DGGE and phylogenetic analyses led us to identify some microbial interactions and helped us moving to a continuous process. PhAC removal efficiency achieved in the fungal treatment operated in non-sterile continuous mode was 44 % after adjusting the C/N ratio with respect to the previously calculated one for sterile treatments. Fungal and bacterial communities in the continuous bioreactors were monitored as well.Authors want to acknowledge the UAB veterinary hospital staff for their kind permission and help for the samplings. This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER (projects CTM2013-48545-C2 and AIB2010PT-00169) and supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups 2014-SGR-476 and 2014-SGR-291). The Department of Chemical Engineering of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) is a member of the Xarxa de Referencia en Biotecnologia de la Generalitat de Catalunya. M. Badia-Fabregat and D. Lucas acknowledge the predoctoral grants from UAB and from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (AP-2010-4926), respectively. The authors also thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013, Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462 co-funded by Operational Competitiveness Programme, FEDER, and Project "BioEnv-Biotechnology and Bioengineering for a sustainable world," REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000048, co-funded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER

Derivation of water quality guidelines for priority pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceuticals can enter freshwater and affect aquatic ecosystem health. Although toxicity tests have been carried out for the commonly used pharmaceuticals, evidence-based water quality guidelines have not been derived. High-reliability water quality guideline values have been derived for 4 pharmaceuticals-carbamazepine, diclofenac, fluoxetine, and propranolol-in freshwaters using a Burr type III distribution applied to species sensitivity distributions of chronic toxicity data. Data were quality-assured and had to meet acceptability criteria for chronic no-observed-effect concentrations or concentrations affecting 10% of species, endpoints of population relevance (namely, effect endpoints based on development, growth, reproduction, and survival). Biomarker response data (e.g., biochemical, histological, or molecular responses) were excluded from the derivation because they are typically not directly relevant to wildlife population-related impacts. The derived guideline values for 95% species protection were 9.2 μg/L, 770 μg/L, 1.6 μg/L, and 14 μg/L for carbamazepine, diclofenac, fluoxetine, and propranolol, respectively. These values are significantly higher than the unknown reliability values derived for the European Commission, Switzerland, or Germany that are based on the application of assessment factors to the most sensitive experimental endpoint (which may include biochemical, histological, or molecular biomarker responses) of a limited data set. The guideline values derived in the present study were not exceeded in recent data for Australian rivers and streams receiving pharmaceutical-containing effluents from wastewater-treatment plants. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1815-1824. © 2015 SETAC

Case Study: The Challenge of Building an Italian National Repository Dedicated to the Field of Medical Research

4Science is designing a repository for a multi-institutional health system dedicated to medical research. The idea, promoted by a consortium of healthcare and health research institutions, will operate on the initial basis of the library network of these institutions. The idea of the project, which draws its foundations from the DSpace-CRIS platform, is to create a repository in which the libraries are interconnected and can thus share the repository infrastructure. With this presentation, 4Science intends to expose and share the issues and opportunities that have arisen from working with such a large and complicated infrastructure as the Italian health system and the documentation it contains. We will describe the potential of the platform and consider how these can be implemented, generating benefit, in the U.S. health system and how individual institutions can use these platforms as their own digital repository increasing its flexibility, visibility, dissemination and prestige. DSpace-CRIS is the world\u27s first open-source CRIS/RIMS platform, based on the widely adopted DSpace, to which 4Science is a leading contributor. The DSpace-CRIS extension offers advanced, unique and extremely user-friendly functionality. Our ambition, at 4Science, is to continue to invest resources in co-creating a global infrastructure that supports research and innovation at its best

Study of the Influence of the Wastewater Matrix in the Adsorption of Three Pharmaceuticals by Powdered Activated Carbon

The use of powdered activated carbon (PAC) as an absorbent has become a promising option to upgrade wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) that were not designed to remove pharmaceuticals. However, PAC adsorption mechanisms are not yet fully understood, especially with regard to the nature of the wastewater. In this study, we tested the adsorption of three pharmaceuticals, namely diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, onto PAC under four different water matrices: ultra-pure water, humic acid solution, effluent and mixed liquor from a real WWTP. The adsorption affinity was defined primarily by the pharmaceutical physicochemical properties (charge and hydrophobicity), with better results obtained for trimethoprim, followed by diclofenac and sulfamethoxazole. In ultra-pure water, the results show that all pharmaceuticals followed pseudo-second order kinetics, and they were limited by a boundary layer effect on the surface of the adsorbent. Depending on the water matrix and compound, the PAC capacity and the adsorption process varied accordingly. The higher adsorption capacity was observed for diclofenac and sulfamethoxazole in humic acid solution (Langmuir isotherm, R2 &gt; 0.98), whereas better results were obtained for trimethoprim in the WWTP effluent. Adsorption in mixed liquor (Freundlich isotherm, R2 &gt; 0.94) was limited, presumably due to its complex nature and the presence of suspended solids