1
|
Wen J, Duan L, Wang B, Dong Q, Liu Y, Chen C, Huang J, Yu G. In-sewer stability assessment of 140 pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides and their metabolites: Implications for wastewater-based epidemiology biomarker screening. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2024; 184:108465. [PMID: 38324926 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
The monitoring of pharmaceuticals, personal care products (PCPs), pesticides, and their metabolites through wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) provides timely information on pharmaceutical consumption patterns, chronic disease treatment rates, antibiotic usage, and exposure to harmful chemicals. However, before applying them for quantitative WBE back-estimation, it is necessary to understand their stability in the sewer system to screen suitable WBE biomarkers thereby reducing research uncertainty. This study investigated the in-sewer stability of 140 typical pharmaceuticals, PCPs, pesticides, and their metabolites across 15 subcategories, using a series of laboratory sewer sediment and biofilm reactors. For the first time, stability results for 89 of these compounds were reported. Among the 140 target compounds, 61 biomarkers demonstrated high stability in all sewer reactors, while 41 biomarkers were significantly removed merely by sediment processes. For biomarkers exhibiting notable attenuation, the influence of sediment processes was generally more pronounced than biofilm, due to its stronger microbial activities and more pronounced diffusion or adsorption processes. Adsorption emerged as the predominant factor causing biomarker removal compared to biodegradation and diffusion. Significantly different organic carbon-water partitioning coefficient (Koc) and distribution coefficient at pH = 7 (logD) values were observed between highly stable and unstable biomarkers, with most hydrophobic substances (Koc > 100 or logD > 2) displaying instability. In light of these findings, we introduced a primary biomarker screening process to efficiently exclude inappropriate candidates, achieving a commendable 77 % accuracy. Overall, this study represents the first comprehensive report on the in-sewer stability of 89 pharmaceuticals, PCPs, pesticides, and their metabolites, and provided crucial reference points for understanding the intricate sewer sediment processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Wen
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, Beijing Laboratory for Environmental Frontier Technologies, China
| | - Lei Duan
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, Beijing Laboratory for Environmental Frontier Technologies, China
| | - Bin Wang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, Beijing Laboratory for Environmental Frontier Technologies, China
| | - Qian Dong
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yanchen Liu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Chao Chen
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jun Huang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, Beijing Laboratory for Environmental Frontier Technologies, China
| | - Gang Yu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, Beijing Laboratory for Environmental Frontier Technologies, China; Advanced Interdisciplinary Institute of Environment and Ecology, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, 519087, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kelkar V, Driver EM, Bienenstock EJ, Palladino A, Halden RU. Stability of human stress hormones and stress hormone metabolites in wastewater under oxic and anoxic conditions. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 857:159377. [PMID: 36240932 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Levels in wastewater of human stress biomarkers, such as cortisone (E), cortisol (F), tetrahydrocortisone (THE), and tetrahydrocortisol (THF) may serve as indicators of population wellbeing and overall health. This study examined the stability of these biosignature compounds in wastewater to inform on their applicability for use in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). Wastewater from two undisclosed U.S. municipalities were fortified with the above four biomarkers of stress to a concentration of 10 ppb, and their decay was studied at three temperatures (15, 25, and 35 °C) over 24 h in oxic and anoxic conditions. Samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in conjunction with the isotope dilution method for absolute quantitation. Results demonstrated short-term persistence (24 h) of biomarkers at low temperatures (15 °C), and accelerating kinetics of decay that were positively correlated with temperature increases. Among the four biomarkers evaluated, the tetrahydro derivatives were the most long-lived sewage-borne stress biomarkers and these are recommended as prime analytical targets for use in WBE when tracking population stress. Statistical analyses using a non-parametric Wilcoxon test further revealed no significant differences (p > 0.05) between oxic and anoxic decay rates for all stress biomarkers in wastewater from all study locations, regardless of the prevailing temperature regime. This negative finding is worthy of reporting because it suggests the feasibility of straightforward modeling of stress hormone decay, irrespective of whether the sewerage system monitored contains fully filled, pressurized pipes or partially filled gravity flow pipes, whose filling level, and with it its redox conditions, are known to fluctuate over time with water use and storm events.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Varun Kelkar
- Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Avenue, AZ 85287-8101, USA
| | - Erin M Driver
- Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Avenue, AZ 85287-8101, USA
| | - Elisa J Bienenstock
- Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, Arizona State University, 411 N Central Ave #750, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
| | - Anthony Palladino
- Boston Fusion Corp., 70 Westview Street, Suite 100, Lexington, MA 02421, USA
| | - Rolf U Halden
- Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Avenue, AZ 85287-8101, USA; OneWaterOneHealth Nonprofit Project, Arizona State University Foundation, 1001 S. McAllister Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85287-8101, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Shao XT, Zhang PY, Liu SY, Lin JG, Tan DQ, Wang DG. Assessment of correlations between sildenafil use and comorbidities and lifestyle factors using wastewater-based epidemiology. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 218:118446. [PMID: 35462261 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Sildenafil (SIL) is widely used to treat erectile dysfunction. Information on its consumption and the factors influencing its use is limited in China. In this study, we sampled composite influent wastewater samples from 33 Chinese cities and analyzed SIL using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. SIL consumption was estimated using wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) and ranged from 10.6 mg/d/1000 people to 132 mg/d/1000 people, with a mean of 53 mg/d/1000 people. Prescription sales (3570 kg) accounted for 13.3% of the estimated SIL use (26842 kg) in 2018, thereby implying that SIL illicit use was greater than prescription use in China. Some regional differences were observed in SIL use, which was significantly higher in North China than South China (p < 0.05), thereby reflecting that the prevalence of SIL was affected by differences in lifestyle and socioeconomic factors. We found significant positive correlations between SIL use and consumption of allopurinol, hydrochlorothiazide, nicotine, and alcohol, thereby suggesting that the prevalence of SIL was associated with the prevalence of gout, hypertension, smoking, and drinking. Moreover, age structures, internet use, and marriage rates were positively correlated with SIL use, whereas the unemployment rate was negatively correlated with SIL use. Our study demonstrates that WBE is valuable for medical research to investigate licit and illicit drug use and to assess the underlying associations of different chemical uses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xue-Ting Shao
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian 116026, China
| | - Pei-Yao Zhang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian 116026, China
| | - Si-Yu Liu
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian 116026, China
| | - Jian-Guo Lin
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian 116026, China
| | - Dong-Qin Tan
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian 116026, China
| | - De-Gao Wang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian 116026, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Pagsuyoin SA, Luo J, Chain FJ. Effects of sewer biofilm on the degradation of drugs in sewage: A microcosm study. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 424:127666. [PMID: 34774351 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
A thorough understanding of the in-sewer stability of chemical biomarkers is critical in applying wastewater-based surveillance of community drug use. In this study, we examined the effects of sewer biofilm on the degradation of commonly abused drugs, namely, morphine, fentanyl, cocaine, and amphetamine, in wastewater using 48-h batch degradation tests. The experiments were designed to distinguish among abiotic, biochemical, and physical degradation processes, and used mature biofilm obtained from an actual sewer line. Parallel microcosm tests were conducted using wastewater with and without suspended biofilm. Results indicate that first order kinetics describe the degradation of the drugs in both wastewater and wastewater-biofilm microcosms. Amphetamine was most stable in all microcosms, with a maximum removal of only 34% after 48 h. Abiotic chemical transformation played a major role in the degradation of morphine (kab = 0.018 h-1), fentanyl (kab = 0.022 h-1) and cocaine (kab = 0.049 h-1) in wastewater. Fentanyl removal from wastewater was also influenced by the presence of biofilm (kf = 0.015 h-1). This study is the first to report on the effect of sewer biofilm on fentanyl degradation, and highlights the need to account for in-sewer drug stability in wastewater-based drug use estimation, particularly for chemicals with high affinity for organics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sheree A Pagsuyoin
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave, Lowell, MA 01854, USA.
| | - Jiayue Luo
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
| | - Frédéric J Chain
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Adeleye AS, Xue J, Zhao Y, Taylor AA, Zenobio JE, Sun Y, Han Z, Salawu OA, Zhu Y. Abundance, fate, and effects of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in aquatic environments. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 424:127284. [PMID: 34655870 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are found in wastewater, and thus, the environment. In this study, current knowledge about the occurrence and fate of PPCPs in aquatic systems-including wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and natural waters around the world-is critically reviewed to inform the state of the science and highlight existing knowledge gaps. Excretion by humans is the primary route of PPCPs entry into municipal wastewater systems, but significant contributions also occur through emissions from hospitals, PPCPs manufacturers, and agriculture. Abundance of PPCPs in raw wastewater is influenced by several factors, including the population density and demography served by WWTPs, presence of hospitals and drugs manufacturers in the sewershed, disease burden of the population served, local regulations, and climatic conditions. Based on the data obtained from WWTPs, analgesics, antibiotics, and stimulants (e.g., caffeine) are the most abundant PPCPs in raw wastewater. In conventional WWTPs, most removal of PPCPs occurs during secondary treatment, and overall removal exceeds 90% for treatable PPCPs. Regardless, the total PPCP mass discharged with effluent by an average WWTP into receiving waters (7.35-20,160 g/day) is still considerable, because potential adverse effects of some PPCPs (such as ibuprofen) on aquatic organisms occur within measured concentrations found in surface waters.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adeyemi S Adeleye
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA.
| | - Jie Xue
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA
| | - Yixin Zhao
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA
| | - Alicia A Taylor
- Ecological and Biological Sciences Practice, Exponent, Inc., Oakland, CA 94612, USA
| | - Jenny E Zenobio
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA
| | - Yian Sun
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA; Water-Energy Nexus Center, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA
| | - Ziwei Han
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA
| | - Omobayo A Salawu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2175, USA
| | - Yurong Zhu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2580, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Yu H, Shao XT, Liu SY, Pei W, Kong XP, Wang Z, Wang DG. Estimating dynamic population served by wastewater treatment plants using location-based services data. ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH 2021; 43:4627-4635. [PMID: 33928448 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-021-00954-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology is a useful approach to estimate population-level exposure to a wide range of substances (e.g., drugs, chemicals, biological agents) by wastewater analysis. An important uncertainty in population normalized loads generated is related to the size and variability of the actual population served by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Here, we built a population model using location-based services (LBS) data to estimate dynamic consumption of illicit drugs. First, the LBS data from Tencent Location Big Data and resident population were used to train a linear population model for estimating population (r2 = 0.92). Then, the spatiotemporal accuracy of the population model was validated. In terms of temporal accuracy, we compared the model-based population with the time-aligned ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) population within the WWTP of SEG, showing a mean squared error of < 10%. In terms of spatial accuracy, we estimated the model-based population of 42 WWTPs in Dalian and compared it with the NH4-N and design population, indicating good consistency overall (5% less than NH4-N and 4% less than design). Furthermore, methamphetamine consumption and prevalence based on the model were calculated with an average of 111 mg/day/1000 inhabitants and 0.24%, respectively, and dynamically displayed on a visualization system for real-time monitoring. Our study provided a dynamic and accurate population for estimating the population-level use of illicit drugs, much improving the temporal and spatial trend analysis of drug use. Furthermore, accurate information on drug use could be used to assess population health risks in a community.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Han Yu
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian, 116026, China
| | - Xue-Ting Shao
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian, 116026, China
| | - Si-Yu Liu
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian, 116026, China
| | - Wei Pei
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian, 116026, China
| | - Xiang-Peng Kong
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian, 116026, China
| | - Zhuang Wang
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, No. 219 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044, China
| | - De-Gao Wang
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, No. 1 Linghai Road, Dalian, 116026, China.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Jia Y, Zheng F, Maier HR, Ostfeld A, Creaco E, Savic D, Langeveld J, Kapelan Z. Water quality modeling in sewer networks: Review and future research directions. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 202:117419. [PMID: 34274902 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Urban sewer networks (SNs) are increasingly facing water quality issues as a result of many challenges, such as population growth, urbanization and climate change. A promising way to addressing these issues is by developing and using water quality models. Many of these models have been developed in recent years to facilitate the management of SNs. Given the proliferation of different water quality models and the promise they have shown, it is timely to assess the state-of-the-art in this field, to identify potential challenges and suggest future research directions. In this review, model types, modeled quality parameters, modeling purpose, data availability, type of case studies and model performance evaluation are critically analyzed and discussed based on a review of 110 papers published between 2010 and 2019. The review identified that applications of empirical and kinetic models dominate those of data-driven models for addressing water quality issues. The majority of models are developed for prediction and process understanding using experimental or field sampled data. While many models have been applied to real problems, the corresponding prediction accuracies are overall moderate or, in some cases, low, especially when dealing with larger SNs. The review also identified the most common issues associated with water quality modeling of SNs and based on these proposed several future research directions. These include the identification of appropriate data resolutions for the development of different SN models, the need and opportunity to develop hybrid SN models and the improvement of SN model transferability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yueyi Jia
- College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, China.
| | - Feifei Zheng
- College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Anzhong Building, Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University, A501, , 866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou 310058, China.
| | - Holger R Maier
- School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Australia.
| | - Avi Ostfeld
- Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel.
| | - Enrico Creaco
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Architettura, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 3 Pavia 27100, Italy; School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Australia.
| | - Dragan Savic
- KWR Water Research Institute, the Netherlands; Centre for Water Systems, University of Exeter, United Kingdom; Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia.
| | - Jeroen Langeveld
- Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.
| | - Zoran Kapelan
- Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, the Netherlands; Centre for Water Systems, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4QF, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Li J, Gao J, Zheng Q, Thai PK, Duan H, Mueller JF, Yuan Z, Jiang G. Effects of pH, Temperature, Suspended Solids, and Biological Activity on Transformation of Illicit Drug and Pharmaceutical Biomarkers in Sewers. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:8771-8782. [PMID: 34157837 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c01516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In-sewer stability of biomarkers is a critical factor for wastewater-based epidemiology, as it could affect the accuracy of the estimated prevalence of substances in the community. The spatiotemporal variations of environmental and biological conditions in sewers can influence the transformation of biomarkers. To date, the relationship between environmental variables and biomarker stability in sewers is poorly understood. Therefore, this study evaluated the transformation of common illicit drug and pharmaceutical biomarkers in laboratory sewer reactors with different levels of pH, temperature, and suspended solids. The correlations between degradation rates of 14 biomarkers, 3 controlled environmental variables (pH, temperature, and suspended solids concentration), and 3 biological activity indicators (sulfide production rate, methane production rate, and the removal rate of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD)) were assessed using correlation matrix, stepwise regression method, and principal component analysis. The consistent results affirmed the dominant effects of biological activities and pH on biomarker transformation in sewers, particularly for labile compounds, whereas the impact of temperature or suspended solids was less significant. This study enhances the understanding of factors affecting the fate of micropollutants in sewer systems and facilitates the interpretation of WBE results for assessing drug use and public health in communities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Li
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Jianfa Gao
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, 1066 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Qiuda Zheng
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Phong K Thai
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Haoran Duan
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jochen F Mueller
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Guangming Jiang
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Hahn RZ, Augusto do Nascimento C, Linden R. Evaluation of Illicit Drug Consumption by Wastewater Analysis Using Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler as a Monitoring Tool. Front Chem 2021; 9:596875. [PMID: 33859973 PMCID: PMC8042236 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.596875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Illicit drug abuse is a worldwide social and health problem, and monitoring illicit drug use is of paramount importance in the context of public policies. It is already known that relevant epidemiologic information can be obtained from the analysis of urban residual waters. This approach, named wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), is based on the measurement of specific markers, resulting from human biotransformation of the target drugs, as indicators of the consumption of the compounds by the population served by the wastewater treatment installation under investigation. Drug consumption estimation based on WBE requires sewage sampling strategies that express the concentrations along the whole time period of time. To this end, the most common approach is the use of automatic composite samplers. However, this active sampling procedure is costly, especially for long-term studies and in limited-resources settings. An alternative, cost-effective, sampling strategy is the use of passive samplers, like the polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS). POCIS sampling has already been applied to the estimation of exposure to pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and some drugs of abuse, and some studies evaluated the comparative performances of POCIS and automatic composite samplers. In this context, this manuscript aims to review the most important biomarkers of drugs of abuse consumption in wastewater, the fundamentals of POCIS sampling in WBE, the previous application of POCIS for WBE of drugs of abuse, and to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of POCIS sampling, in comparison with other strategies used in WBE. POCIS sampling is an effective strategy to obtain a representative overview of biomarker concentrations in sewage over time, with a small number of analyzed samples, increased detection limits, with lower costs than active sampling. Just a few studies applied POCIS sampling for WBE of drugs of abuse, but the available data support the use of POCIS as a valuable tool for the long-term monitoring of the consumption of certain drugs within a defined population, particularly in limited-resources settings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Zilles Hahn
- Laboratory of Analytical Toxicology, Universidade Feevale, Novo Hamburgo, Brazil
| | | | - Rafael Linden
- Laboratory of Analytical Toxicology, Universidade Feevale, Novo Hamburgo, Brazil.,National Institute of Forensic Science and Technology (INCT Forense), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Lin W, Huang Z, Gao S, Luo Z, An W, Li P, Ping S, Ren Y. Evaluating the stability of prescription drugs in municipal wastewater and sewers based on wastewater-based epidemiology. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 754:142414. [PMID: 33254861 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2019] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is considered as an effective tool for monitoring drug consumption, which is often obtained by back-calculation using the influent concentration and other parameters of wastewater treatment plants. Lack of information on the transformation of drugs in municipal wastewater and sewers may lead to inaccurate consumption estimation. Fourteen prescription drugs in four major categories of diseases (cardiovascular, diabetes, depression, and asthma) were selected to study their adsorption and biodegradation in wastewater and biofilm sewers under different temperatures, pH and biofilms conditions. The result demonstrated that the decay percentage of drugs in wastewater is increased with temperature. Within 72 h, eleven of these 14 drugs, such as metformin, metoprolol, bezafibrate, etc., have decay percentages below 20% in wastewater, which are considered as stable drugs; and the decay percentages of the other three, monluster, paroxetine, and sertraline, are greater than 20%, which are the most unstable drugs. In lab-scale aerobic and anaerobic sewers, the decay percentages of metformin, glipizide, metoprolol, gemfibrozil, and atorvastatin are less than 20% within 24 h. The decay percentages of venlafaxine, citalopram, fluoxetine, salmeterol, and salbutamol within 24 h are 20%-60% and paroxetine and sertraline are close to or even exceed 80% within 6 h. Biodegradation of drugs in sewers with aerobic or anaerobic biofilms is higher than that in wastewater systems without biofilms. The results showed that when the per capita consumption of drugs is estimated by using the WBE method, the stability of drugs in wastewater and different types of sewers will significantly affect their residual concentrations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wenting Lin
- School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Zhishan Huang
- School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Shiyu Gao
- School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Zhifeng Luo
- School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Wenxuan An
- School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Ping Li
- School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Senwen Ping
- School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China
| | - Yuan Ren
- School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China; The Key Lab of Pollution Control and Ecosystem Restoration in Industry Clusters, Ministry of Education, PR China; The Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Eco-Remediation of Guangdong Regular Higher Education Institutions, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
López-García E, Mastroianni N, Ponsà-Borau N, Barceló D, Postigo C, López de Alda M. Drugs of abuse and their metabolites in river sediments: Analysis, occurrence in four Spanish river basins and environmental risk assessment. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2021; 401:123312. [PMID: 32653784 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The environmental impact produced by the presence of drugs of abuse in sediments has been scarcely studied to date, even though many of them may adsorb onto particulate matter due to their physical-chemical properties. This study presents an analytical method for the determination of 20 drugs of abuse and metabolites in sediments. The validated method was satisfactory in terms of linearity (r2 >0.99), recovery (90-135 %), repeatability (relative standard deviations <15 %), sensitivity (limits of quantification <2.1 ng/g d.w, except for cannabinoids), and matrix effects (ionization suppression <40 %). The method was applied to the analysis of 144 sediments collected in four Spanish river basins. Cocaine, methadone, and its metabolite 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP) were the most ubiquitous compounds (detection frequencies>36 %), whereas cannabinol, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and methadone were the most abundant compounds (up to 44, 37, and 33 ng/g d.w, respectively). The presence of EDDP, THC, and methadone in the sediments of 28 locations may pose a risk to sediment-dwelling organisms. To the author`s knowledge, this is the most extensive study conducted so far on the occurrence of drugs of abuse in sediments, and the first time that sediment-water distribution coefficients for EDDP, methadone, MDMA, and diazepam are reported from field observations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ester López-García
- Water, Environmental, and Food Chemistry Unit (ENFOCHEM), Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Nicola Mastroianni
- Water, Environmental, and Food Chemistry Unit (ENFOCHEM), Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Damià Barceló
- Water, Environmental, and Food Chemistry Unit (ENFOCHEM), Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain; Catalan Institute for Water Research, H2O Buiding, Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Grona, Emili Grahit 101, 17003, Girona, Spain
| | - Cristina Postigo
- Water, Environmental, and Food Chemistry Unit (ENFOCHEM), Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Miren López de Alda
- Water, Environmental, and Food Chemistry Unit (ENFOCHEM), Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Li J, Gao J, Thai PK, Mueller JF, Yuan Z, Jiang G. Transformation of Illicit Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in Sewer Sediments. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020; 54:13056-13065. [PMID: 32951431 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c04266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In-sewer stability of human excreted biomarkers is a critical factor of wastewater-based epidemiology in back-estimating illicit drug and pharmaceutical use in the community. Biomarker stability has been investigated in sewers with the presence of biofilms, but the understanding in sewer sediments is still lacking. This study for the first time employed a laboratory sediment reactor to measure 18 illicit drug and pharmaceutical biomarkers under gravity sewer environments with the presence of sediments. Biomarkers exhibited various stability patterns due to transformation processes occurring in the bulk wastewater and sediments. The attenuation of a biomarker by sediments is driven by complex processes involving biodegradation, diffusion, and sorption, which is directly proportional to the ratio of sediment surface area against wastewater volume. The sediment-driven transformation coefficients of biomarkers are higher than the accordingly biofilm-mediated rates because of stronger microbial activities in sediments. Additionally, the stability of most biomarkers was insensitive to the natural pH variation in sewers, except for a few compounds (e.g., methadone, ketamine, and paracetamol) susceptible to pH changes. In general, this study delineates the stability data of various biomarkers in gravity sewers with sediments, which are novel and long-missing information for wastewater-based epidemiology and improve the reliability of back-estimation in complex sewer networks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Li
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Jianfa Gao
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, 1066 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Phong K Thai
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Jochen F Mueller
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Guangming Jiang
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Hart OE, Halden RU. Modeling wastewater temperature and attenuation of sewage-borne biomarkers globally. WATER RESEARCH 2020; 172:115473. [PMID: 31972412 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.115473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2019] [Revised: 01/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Accurate modeling of in-sewer degradation of sewage-borne epidemiological biomarkers requires information on local wastewater temperature. We applied a deterministic, physical model to map theoretical wastewater temperature on a monthly scale worldwide and incorporated in the model estimated changes in the decay rate of 31 biomarkers of public health relevance frequently used in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). Over the course of a year, 75% of the world's global wastewater temperatures were estimated to fall into the temperature range of 6.9-34.4 °C. These non-fitted results obtained purely a priori were in good agreement with empirical observations (n = 400), as indicated by coefficients for Pearson (0.81; 0.76) and Spearman (0.86; 0.78) correlations for annual minima and maxima, respectively. Application of the Q10 rule for biochemical reaction rates showed that, depending on wastewater temperature, half-lives of sewage-borne biomarkers will change significantly (range: 27%-7,010%) from the baseline at ambient conditions (21 ± 1 °C; 100%). Importantly, these temperature-related modulations of in-sewer biomarker decay changed the size of the area observable by WBE; in the extreme, changes in the distal reach observable by WBE were predicted to be as large as 49-fold over the course of a year at a given location. This first model of spatial and temporal variability in wastewater temperature has multiple suggested applications, including (i) utility for explaining literature-reported discrepancies in the detectability and levels of sewage-borne biomarkers, (ii) identification of optimal and sub-optimal wastewater-borne biomarkers depending on their varying half-lives over the course of the year at the sampling location of interest, and (iii) estimating the effective size of the sewershed capture zone in WBE studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Olga E Hart
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Avenue, Tempe, AZ, 85287-8101, USA
| | - Rolf U Halden
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Avenue, Tempe, AZ, 85287-8101, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Wang Y, Fan L, Khan SJ, Roddick FA. Fugacity modelling of the fate of micropollutants in aqueous systems - Uncertainty and sensitivity issues. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 699:134249. [PMID: 31522051 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2019] [Revised: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/01/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The application of multimedia fugacity models is useful to facilitate understanding of the behaviour of emerging contaminants during wastewater treatment, as well as after their release to the environment. In this paper, twenty-two fugacity modelling applications (reported over 1995-2019) describing the distribution of organic micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants and surface water bodies were analysed in terms of model application and modelling strategy. Disparities and similarities in strategies including selection of micropollutants, data sources for internal and external model inputs, sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, as well as model validation were discussed. This review confirmed that fugacity modelling is very applicable for providing qualitative predictions of the fate and removal of organic micropollutants in the various aqueous systems. However, it was also noted that there are issues related to the uncertainties and sensitivities of fugacity models such as the sources of model inputs and selection of default settings. The issues associated with the uncertainties in the investigated fugacity models are pointed out. Recommendations are given regarding the selection of the sources of model inputs, sensitivity analysis strategies and model validation methods. This review presents the challenges and opportunities for improving multimedia fugacity models, and so paves the way for future research in this field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yufei Wang
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia
| | - Linhua Fan
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia
| | - Stuart J Khan
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Felicity A Roddick
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Warner W, Licha T, Nödler K. Qualitative and quantitative use of micropollutants as source and process indicators. A review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 686:75-89. [PMID: 31176825 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Revised: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 05/24/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Nowadays, micropollutants such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides and personal care products can be found ubiquitously in the anthropogenically influenced water cycle. As micropollutants have virtually no natural background concentrations they are significantly more sensitive in detecting processes and flow paths than classic inorganic tracers and indicators and at the same time they are often highly source specific. Therefore, using micropollutants as environmental indicators for anthropogenic activities is a common and frequently applied method today. As they interact in many ways with environmental matrices they can be used for source apportionment as well as to estimate flow paths and residence times in waterbodies. This review gives a systematic overview over the large variety of micropollutants used as indicators in the aquatic environment over the last decades together with the prerequisites on their use. Their application is subdivided into their qualitative (compound presence or absence) and quantitative (volume flows) use and shows the numerous possibilities from gaining basic information on the water regime up to advanced applications such as wastewater-based epidemiology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wiebke Warner
- Department of Applied Geology, Geoscience Centre, University of Goettingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077 Goettingen, Germany.
| | - Tobias Licha
- Department of Applied Geology, Geoscience Centre, University of Goettingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Karsten Nödler
- TZW: DVGW-Technologiezentrum Wasser, Karlsruher Straße 84, 76139 Karlsruhe
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Li J, Gao J, Thai PK, Shypanski A, Nieradzik L, Mueller JF, Yuan Z, Jiang G. Experimental Investigation and Modeling of the Transformation of Illicit Drugs in a Pilot-Scale Sewer System. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2019; 53:4556-4565. [PMID: 30852889 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b06169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
In-sewer stability of illicit drug biomarkers has been evaluated by several reactor-based studies, but less has been done in sewer pipes. Experiments conducted in sewer pipes have advantages over lab-scale reactors in providing more realistic biomarker stability due to the flow and biological dynamics. This study assessed the transportation and transformation of seven illicit drug biomarker compounds in a pilot-scale rising main and a gravity sewer pipe. Biomarkers presented diverse stability patterns in the pilot sewers, based on which a drug transformation model was calibrated. This model was subsequently validated using transformation data sets from the literature, aiming to demonstrate the predictability of the pilot-based transformation coefficients under varying sewer conditions. Furthermore, transformation coefficients for five investigated biomarkers were generated from four studies, and their prediction capabilities under the pilot-sewer conditions were jointly assessed using performance statistics. The transformation model was successful in simulating the in-sewer stability for most illicit drugs. However, further study is required to delineate the sources and pathways for those compounds with potential formations to be simulated in the transformation model. Overall, the transformation model calibrated using the pilot-sewer data is a credible tool for the application of wastewater-based epidemiology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Li
- Advanced Water Management Centre , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , Queensland 4072 , Australia
| | - Jianfa Gao
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences , The University of Queensland , Brisbane , Queensland 4102 , Australia
| | - Phong K Thai
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences , The University of Queensland , Brisbane , Queensland 4102 , Australia
| | - Adam Shypanski
- Advanced Water Management Centre , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , Queensland 4072 , Australia
| | - Ludwika Nieradzik
- Advanced Water Management Centre , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , Queensland 4072 , Australia
| | - Jochen F Mueller
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences , The University of Queensland , Brisbane , Queensland 4102 , Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Advanced Water Management Centre , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , Queensland 4072 , Australia
| | - Guangming Jiang
- Advanced Water Management Centre , The University of Queensland , St Lucia , Queensland 4072 , Australia
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering , Sichuan University of Arts and Science , Sichuan , China
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering , University of Wollongong , Wollongong , New South Wales 2522 , Australia
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Ramin P, Polesel F, Brock AL, Plósz BG. The impact of temperature on the transformation of illicit drug biomarkers in wastewater. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 644:1612-1616. [PMID: 30743873 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Revised: 06/24/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Temperature is one of the key factors, influencing the transformation kinetics of organic chemicals. In the context of wastewater-based epidemiology, however, temperature differences among sewer catchments and within the same catchment (due to, e.g., seasonal variations) have been neglected to date as a factor influencing the estimation of illicit drug consumption. In this study, we assessed the influence of temperature on the transformation of biomarkers in wastewater and its ensuing implications on the back-calculation of chemical consumption rate in urban catchments using the example of selected illicit drugs. Literature data, obtained in laboratory-scale experiments, on the stability of drug biomarkers in untreated wastewater at trace levels was systematically reviewed, and transformation rates obtained at different temperatures were collected. Arrhenius-based equations were fitted to empirical data and identified to describe the transformation of selected cocaine and morphine biomarkers at applicability temperature range (from 2-9 °C to 30-31 °C), with estimated exponential Arrhenius coefficients between 1.04 and 1.18. These empirically-derived relationships were used to assess the influence of temperature on the transformation of drug biomarkers during in-sewer transport and its effect on the back-calculation of drug consumption rate in hypothetical urban catchment scenario simulations. Up to 4-fold increase in removal efficiency was estimated when wastewater temperature increased from 15 °C to 25 °C. Findings from this study can help reducing the uncertainty intrinsic to wastewater-based epidemiology studies, and will be beneficial in comparing chemical consumption estimates from different catchments worldwide.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pedram Ramin
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark; Process and Systems Engineering Centre (PROSYS), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Søltofts Plads 229, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Fabio Polesel
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Andreas Libonati Brock
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Benedek Gy Plósz
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark; Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Kaeseberg T, Zhang J, Schubert S, Oertel R, Krebs P. Abiotic, biotic and photolytic degradation affinity of 14 antibiotics and one metabolite - batch experiments and a model framework. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2018; 241:339-350. [PMID: 29843016 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.05.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2017] [Revised: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In this study, degradation affinities of 14 antibiotics and one metabolite were determined in batch experiments. A modelling framework was applied to decrypt potential ranges of abiotic, biotic and photolytic degradation coefficients. In detail, we performed batch experiments with three different sewages in the dark at 7 °C and 22 °C. Additionally, we conducted further batch experiments with artificial irradiation and different dilutions of the sewage at 30 °C - de novo three different sewages were used. The batch experiments were initially spiked with a stock solution with 14 antibiotics and one metabolite to increase background concentrations by 1 μg L-1 for each compound. The final antibiotic concentrations were sub-inhibitory with regard to sewage bacteria. The here presented modelling framework based on the Activated Sludge Model No. 3 in combination with adsorption and desorption processes. The model was calibrated with monitored standard sewage compounds before antibiotic degradation rates were quantified. The model decrypted ranges of abiotic, biotic and photolytic degradation coefficients. In detail, six antibiotics were not abiotic degradable at 7 °C, five antibiotics not at 22 °C and only 2 antibiotics at 30 °C. Finally, nine antibiotics were not significantly biodegradable at 7 °C and 22 °C. The model determined the link between adsorption characteristics and biodegradation rates. In detail, the rate was significantly affected by the bio-solid partition coefficient and the duration until adsorption was balanced. All antibiotics and the metabolite were photolytic degradable. In general, photolytic degradation was the most efficient elimination pathway of presented antibiotics except for the given metabolite and penicillin antibiotics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Kaeseberg
- Institute of Urban Water Management, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
| | - Jin Zhang
- Institute of Groundwater and Earth Sciences, Jinan University, 510632 Guangzhou, China.
| | - Sara Schubert
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Reinhard Oertel
- Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Peter Krebs
- Institute of Urban Water Management, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Kinyua J, Negreira N, McCall AK, Boogaerts T, Ort C, Covaci A, van Nuijs ALN. Investigating in-sewer transformation products formed from synthetic cathinones and phenethylamines using liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 634:331-340. [PMID: 29627557 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2018] [Revised: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated the role of biofilms on the stability of drug residues in wastewater. These factors are pertinent in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) when estimating community-level drug use. However, there is scarce information on the biotransformation of drug residues in the presence of biofilms and the potential use of transformation products (TPs) as biomarkers in WBE. The purpose of this work was to investigate the formation of TPs in sewage reactors in the presence of biofilm mimicking conditions during in-sewer transport. Synthetic cathinones (methylenedioxypyrovalerone, methylone, mephedrone) and phenethylamines (4-methoxy-methamphetamine and 4-methoxyamphetamine) were incubated in individual reactors over a 24h period. Analysis of parent species and TPs was carried out using liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QToFMS). Identification of TPs was done using suspect and non-target workflows. In total, 18 TPs were detected and identified with reduction of β-keto group, demethylenation, demethylation, and hydroxylation reactions observed for the synthetic cathinones. For the phenethylamines, N- and O-demethylation reactions were identified. Overall, the experiments showed varying stability for the parent species in wastewater in the presence of biofilms. The newly identified isomeric forms of TPs particularly for methylone and mephedrone can be used as potential target biomarkers for WBE studies due to their specificity and detectability within a 24h residence time.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juliet Kinyua
- Toxicological Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campus Drie Eiken, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Noelia Negreira
- Toxicological Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campus Drie Eiken, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Ann-Kathrin McCall
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Tim Boogaerts
- Toxicological Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campus Drie Eiken, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Christoph Ort
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, CH-8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Adrian Covaci
- Toxicological Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campus Drie Eiken, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Alexander L N van Nuijs
- Toxicological Center, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campus Drie Eiken, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Li J, Gao J, Thai PK, Sun X, Mueller JF, Yuan Z, Jiang G. Stability of Illicit Drugs as Biomarkers in Sewers: From Lab to Reality. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2018; 52:1561-1570. [PMID: 29285935 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b05109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Systematic sampling and analysis of wastewater samples are increasingly adopted for estimating drug consumption in communities. An understanding of the in-sewer transportation and transformation of illicit drug biomarkers is critical for reducing the uncertainty of this evidence-based estimation method. In this study, biomarkers stability was investigated in lab-scale sewer reactors with typical sewer conditions. Kinetic models using the Bayesian statistics method were developed to simulate biomarkers transformation in reactors. Furthermore, a field-scale study was conducted in a real pressure sewer pipe with the systematical spiking and sampling of biomarkers and flow tracers. In-sewer degradation was observed for some spiked biomarkers over typical hydraulic retention time (i.e., a few hours). Results indicated that sewer biofilms prominently influenced biomarker stability with the retention time in wastewater. The fits between the measured and the simulated biomarkers transformation demonstrated that the lab-based model could be extended to estimate the changes of biomarkers in real sewers. Results also suggested that the variabilities of biotransformation and analytical accuracy are the two major contributors to the overall estimation uncertainty. Built upon many previous lab-scale studies, this study is one critical step forward in realizing wastewater-based epidemiology by extending biomarker stability investigations from laboratory reactors to real sewers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiaying Li
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland , St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jianfa Gao
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland , Brisbane, Queensland 4108, Australia
| | - Phong K Thai
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology , Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia
| | - Xiaoyan Sun
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland , St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Jochen F Mueller
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland , Brisbane, Queensland 4108, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland , St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Guangming Jiang
- Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland , St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Devault DA, Néfau T, Levi Y, Karolak S. The removal of illicit drugs and morphine in two waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) under tropical conditions. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2017; 24:25645-25655. [PMID: 26769475 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-6032-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2015] [Accepted: 12/28/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The consumption of drugs of abuse has been recently investigated in Martinique using the back-calculation approach, also called the "sewage epidemiology" method. Results demonstrated a very high consumption considering the international data. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are located just behind the Martinique island shoreline, and effluents could impact the vulnerable corals and marine seagrass ecosystem. The present article aims to determine a WWTP's efficiency by comparing the influent and effluent of two WWTPs, with different residence times and biological treatments, located either outdoors or indoors. In parallel, a degradation study is conducted using spiked wastewater exposed to tropical and ambient temperatures. Results demonstrate the consistent efficiency of the two processes, especially for the outdoor WWTP which uses the activated sludge process. The positive effect of the tropical temperature is showed by the increase of cocaine degradation at 31 °C. Thus, low illicit drug residue concentrations in effluent would indicate that wastewater treatment is efficient and even enhanced under tropical context. This fact should be confirmed with others molecules. Furthermore, our results highlight the need for subsequent studies of sludge contamination because of their local recycling as compost.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Damien A Devault
- Univ. Paris-Sud, Faculté de Pharmacie, UMR 8079, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Paris, France
| | - Thomas Néfau
- Univ. Paris-Sud, Faculté de Pharmacie, UMR 8079, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Paris, France
| | - Yves Levi
- Univ. Paris-Sud, Faculté de Pharmacie, UMR 8079, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Paris, France
| | - Sara Karolak
- Univ. Paris-Sud, Faculté de Pharmacie, UMR 8079, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Paris, France.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Polesel F, Torresi E, Loreggian L, Casas ME, Christensson M, Bester K, Plósz BG. Removal of pharmaceuticals in pre-denitrifying MBBR - Influence of organic substrate availability in single- and three-stage configurations. WATER RESEARCH 2017; 123:408-419. [PMID: 28689125 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2017.06.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2017] [Revised: 06/22/2017] [Accepted: 06/23/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Due to the limited efficiency of conventional biological treatment, innovative solutions are being explored to improve the removal of trace organic chemicals in wastewater. Controlling biomass exposure to growth substrate represents an appealing option for process optimization, as substrate availability likely impacts microbial activity, hence organic trace chemical removal. This study investigated the elimination of pharmaceuticals in pre-denitrifying moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs), where biofilm exposure to different organic substrate loading and composition was controlled by reactor staging. A three-stage MBBR and a single-stage reference MBBR (with the same operating volume and filling ratio) were operated under continuous-flow conditions (18 months). Two sets of batch experiments (day 100 and 471) were performed to quantify and compare pharmaceutical removal and denitrification kinetics in the different MBBRs. Experimental results revealed the possible influence of retransformation (e.g., from conjugated metabolites) and enantioselectivity on the removal of selected pharmaceuticals. In the second set of experiments, specific trends in denitrification and biotransformation kinetics were observed, with highest and lowest rates/rate constants in the first (S1) and the last (S3) staged sub-reactors, respectively. These observations were confirmed by removal efficiency data obtained during continuous-flow operation, with limited removal (<10%) of recalcitrant pharmaceuticals and highest removal in S1 within the three-stage MBBR. Notably, biotransformation rate constants obtained for non-recalcitrant pharmaceuticals correlated with mean specific denitrification rates, maximum specific growth rates and observed growth yield values. Overall, these findings suggest that: (i) the long-term exposure to tiered substrate accessibility in the three-stage configuration shaped the denitrification and biotransformation capacity of biofilms, with significant reduction under substrate limitation; (ii) biotransformation of pharmaceuticals may have occurred as a result of cometabolism by heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Polesel
- DTU Environment, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet B115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Elena Torresi
- DTU Environment, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet B115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark; Veolia Water Technologies AB, AnoxKaldnes, Klosterängsvägen 11A, SE-226 47 Lund, Sweden
| | - Luca Loreggian
- DTU Environment, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet B115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark; Environmental Engineering Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 6, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Mònica Escolà Casas
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Magnus Christensson
- Veolia Water Technologies AB, AnoxKaldnes, Klosterängsvägen 11A, SE-226 47 Lund, Sweden
| | - Kai Bester
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Benedek Gy Plósz
- DTU Environment, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet B115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark; Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Thomas KV, Amador A, Baz-Lomba JA, Reid M. Use of Mobile Device Data To Better Estimate Dynamic Population Size for Wastewater-Based Epidemiology. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2017; 51:11363-11370. [PMID: 28929740 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b02538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology is an established approach for quantifying community drug use and has recently been applied to estimate population exposure to contaminants such as pesticides and phthalate plasticizers. A major source of uncertainty in the population weighted biomarker loads generated is related to estimating the number of people present in a sewer catchment at the time of sample collection. Here, the population quantified from mobile device-based population activity patterns was used to provide dynamic population normalized loads of illicit drugs and pharmaceuticals during a known period of high net fluctuation in the catchment population. Mobile device-based population activity patterns have for the first time quantified the high degree of intraday, week, and month variability within a specific sewer catchment. Dynamic population normalization showed that per capita pharmaceutical use remained unchanged during the period when static normalization would have indicated an average reduction of up to 31%. Per capita illicit drug use increased significantly during the monitoring period, an observation that was only possible to measure using dynamic population normalization. The study quantitatively confirms previous assessments that population estimates can account for uncertainties of up to 55% in static normalized data. Mobile device-based population activity patterns allow for dynamic normalization that yields much improved temporal and spatial trend analysis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin V Thomas
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) , Gaustadalléen 21, NO-0349 Oslo, Norway
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland , 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia
| | - Arturo Amador
- Telenor ASA , Snarøyveien 30, NO-1360 Fornebu, Norway
| | | | - Malcolm Reid
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) , Gaustadalléen 21, NO-0349 Oslo, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Ramin P, Brock AL, Causanilles A, Valverde-Pérez B, Emke E, de Voogt P, Polesel F, Plósz BG. Transformation and Sorption of Illicit Drug Biomarkers in Sewer Biofilms. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2017; 51:10572-10584. [PMID: 28673083 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b06277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
In-sewer transformation of drug biomarkers (excreted parent drugs and metabolites) can be influenced by the presence of biomass in suspended form as well as attached to sewer walls (biofilms). Biofilms are likely the most abundant and biologically active biomass fraction in sewers. In this study, 16 drug biomarkers were selected, including the parent forms and the major human metabolites of mephedrone, methadone, cocaine, heroin, codeine, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Transformation and sorption of these substances were assessed in targeted batch experiments using laboratory-scale biofilm reactors operated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. A one-dimensional model was developed to simulate diffusive transport, abiotic and biotic transformation, and partitioning of drug biomarkers. Model calibration to experimental results allowed estimating biotransformation rate constants in sewer biofilms, which were compared to those obtained for suspended biomass. Our results suggest that sewer biofilms can enhance the biotransformation kinetics of most selected compounds. Through scenario simulations, we demonstrated that the estimation of biotransformation rate constants in biofilm can be significantly biased if the boundary layer thickness is not accurately estimated. This study complements our previous investigation on the transformation and sorption of drug biomarkers in the presence of only suspended biomass in untreated sewage. A better understanding of the role of sewer biofilms-also relative to the in-sewer suspended solids-and improved prediction of associated fate processes can result in more accurate estimation of daily drug consumption in urban areas in wastewater-based epidemiological assessments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pedram Ramin
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Bygningstorvet, Bygning 115, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
- Process and Systems Engineering Center (PROSYS), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark , Building 229, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Andreas Libonati Brock
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Bygningstorvet, Bygning 115, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ana Causanilles
- KWR Watercycle Research Institute , P.O. Box 1072, 3430 BB Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
| | - Borja Valverde-Pérez
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Bygningstorvet, Bygning 115, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Erik Emke
- KWR Watercycle Research Institute , P.O. Box 1072, 3430 BB Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
| | - Pim de Voogt
- KWR Watercycle Research Institute , P.O. Box 1072, 3430 BB Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam , P.O. Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Fabio Polesel
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Bygningstorvet, Bygning 115, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Benedek Gy Plósz
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Bygningstorvet, Bygning 115, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath , Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
A systematic model identification method for chemical transformation pathways - the case of heroin biomarkers in wastewater. Sci Rep 2017; 7:9390. [PMID: 28839237 PMCID: PMC5571155 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-09313-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
This study presents a novel statistical approach for identifying sequenced chemical transformation pathways in combination with reaction kinetics models. The proposed method relies on sound uncertainty propagation by considering parameter ranges and associated probability distribution obtained at any given transformation pathway levels as priors for parameter estimation at any subsequent transformation levels. The method was applied to calibrate a model predicting the transformation in untreated wastewater of six biomarkers, excreted following human metabolism of heroin and codeine. The method developed was compared to parameter estimation methods commonly encountered in literature (i.e., estimation of all parameters at the same time and parameter estimation with fix values for upstream parameters) by assessing the model prediction accuracy, parameter identifiability and uncertainty analysis. Results obtained suggest that the method developed has the potential to outperform conventional approaches in terms of prediction accuracy, transformation pathway identification and parameter identifiability. This method can be used in conjunction with optimal experimental designs to effectively identify model structures and parameters. This method can also offer a platform to promote a closer interaction between analytical chemists and modellers to identify models for biochemical transformation pathways, being a prominent example for the emerging field of wastewater-based epidemiology.
Collapse
|
26
|
O'Brien JW, Banks APW, Novic AJ, Mueller JF, Jiang G, Ort C, Eaglesham G, Yuan Z, Thai PK. Impact of in-Sewer Degradation of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) Population Markers on a Population Model. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2017; 51:3816-3823. [PMID: 28244310 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b02755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
A key uncertainty of wastewater-based epidemiology is the size of the population which contributed to a given wastewater sample. We previously developed and validated a Bayesian inference model to estimate population size based on 14 population markers which: (1) are easily measured and (2) have mass loads which correlate with population size. However, the potential uncertainty of the model prediction due to in-sewer degradation of these markers was not evaluated. In this study, we addressed this gap by testing their stability under sewer conditions and assessed whether degradation impacts the model estimates. Five markers, which formed the core of our model, were stable in the sewers while the others were not. Our evaluation showed that the presence of unstable population markers in the model did not decrease the precision of the population estimates providing that stable markers such as acesulfame remained in the model. However, to achieve the minimum uncertainty in population estimates, we propose that the core markers to be included in population models for other sites should meet two additional criteria: (3) negligible degradation in wastewater to ensure the stability of chemicals during collection; and (4) < 10% in-sewer degradation could occur during the mean residence time of the sewer network.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jake William O'Brien
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science (QAEHS), The University of Queensland , 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia
| | - Andrew Phillip William Banks
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science (QAEHS), The University of Queensland , 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia
| | - Andrew Joseph Novic
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science (QAEHS), The University of Queensland , 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia
| | - Jochen F Mueller
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science (QAEHS), The University of Queensland , 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia
| | - Guangming Jiang
- Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC), The University of Queensland , St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Christoph Ort
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology , CH 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Geoff Eaglesham
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science (QAEHS), The University of Queensland , 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC), The University of Queensland , St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Phong K Thai
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science (QAEHS), The University of Queensland , 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia
- International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology , Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Gracia-Lor E, Castiglioni S, Bade R, Been F, Castrignanò E, Covaci A, González-Mariño I, Hapeshi E, Kasprzyk-Hordern B, Kinyua J, Lai FY, Letzel T, Lopardo L, Meyer MR, O'Brien J, Ramin P, Rousis NI, Rydevik A, Ryu Y, Santos MM, Senta I, Thomaidis NS, Veloutsou S, Yang Z, Zuccato E, Bijlsma L. Measuring biomarkers in wastewater as a new source of epidemiological information: Current state and future perspectives. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2017; 99:131-150. [PMID: 28038971 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2016.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2016] [Revised: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 12/16/2016] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The information obtained from the chemical analysis of specific human excretion products (biomarkers) in urban wastewater can be used to estimate the exposure or consumption of the population under investigation to a defined substance. A proper biomarker can provide relevant information about lifestyle habits, health and wellbeing, but its selection is not an easy task as it should fulfil several specific requirements in order to be successfully employed. This paper aims to summarize the current knowledge related to the most relevant biomarkers used so far. In addition, some potential wastewater biomarkers that could be used for future applications were evaluated. For this purpose, representative chemical classes have been chosen and grouped in four main categories: (i) those that provide estimates of lifestyle factors and substance use, (ii) those used to estimate the exposure to toxicants present in the environment and food, (iii) those that have the potential to provide information about public health and illness and (iv) those used to estimate the population size. To facilitate the evaluation of the eligibility of a compound as a biomarker, information, when available, on stability in urine and wastewater and pharmacokinetic data (i.e. metabolism and urinary excretion profile) has been reviewed. Finally, several needs and recommendations for future research are proposed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emma Gracia-Lor
- Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, Universitat Jaume I, Castellon, Spain; IRCCS-Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Milan, Italy.
| | - Sara Castiglioni
- IRCCS-Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Milan, Italy.
| | - Richard Bade
- Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, Universitat Jaume I, Castellon, Spain.
| | - Frederic Been
- Toxicological Center, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Erika Castrignanò
- Deparment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
| | - Adrian Covaci
- Toxicological Center, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Iria González-Mariño
- IRCCS-Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Milan, Italy.
| | - Evroula Hapeshi
- NIREAS-International Water Research Center, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus.
| | | | - Juliet Kinyua
- Toxicological Center, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Foon Yin Lai
- Toxicological Center, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Thomas Letzel
- Analytical Group, Chair of Urban Water Systems Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Germany.
| | - Luigi Lopardo
- Deparment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
| | - Markus R Meyer
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Toxicology, Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Saarland University, 66421 Homburg, Germany.
| | - Jake O'Brien
- National Research Center for Environmental Toxicology, The University of Queensland, Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia.
| | - Pedram Ramin
- Dept. of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
| | - Nikolaos I Rousis
- IRCCS-Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Milan, Italy.
| | - Axel Rydevik
- Deparment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
| | - Yeonsuk Ryu
- Ecotoxicology and Risk Assessment, Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Miguel M Santos
- CIMAR/CIIMAR, LA-Interdisciplinary Centre for marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Portugal; FCUP-Dept of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
| | - Ivan Senta
- Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Nikolaos S Thomaidis
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece.
| | - Sofia Veloutsou
- Analytical Group, Chair of Urban Water Systems Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Germany.
| | - Zhugen Yang
- Division of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, G128LT Glasgow, United Kingdom.
| | - Ettore Zuccato
- IRCCS-Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Milan, Italy.
| | - Lubertus Bijlsma
- Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, Universitat Jaume I, Castellon, Spain.
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Ramin P, Libonati Brock A, Polesel F, Causanilles A, Emke E, de Voogt P, Plósz BG. Transformation and Sorption of Illicit Drug Biomarkers in Sewer Systems: Understanding the Role of Suspended Solids in Raw Wastewater. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2016; 50:13397-13408. [PMID: 27737550 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b03049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Sewer pipelines, although primarily designed for sewage transport, can also be considered as bioreactors. In-sewer processes may lead to significant variations of chemical loadings from source release points to the treatment plant influent. In this study, we assessed in-sewer utilization of growth substrates (primary metabolic processes) and transformation of illicit drug biomarkers (secondary metabolic processes) by suspended biomass. Sixteen drug biomarkers were targeted, including mephedrone, methadone, cocaine, heroin, codeine, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and their major human metabolites. Batch experiments were performed under aerobic and anaerobic conditions using raw wastewater. Abiotic biomarker transformation and partitioning to suspended solids and reactor wall were separately investigated under both redox conditions. A process model was identified by combining and extending the Wastewater Aerobic/anaerobic Transformations in Sewers (WATS) model and Activated Sludge Model for Xenobiotics (ASM-X). Kinetic and stoichiometric model parameters were estimated using experimental data via the Bayesian optimization method DREAM(ZS). Results suggest that biomarker transformation significantly differs from aerobic to anaerobic conditions, and abiotic conversion is the dominant mechanism for many of the selected substances. Notably, an explicit description of biomass growth during batch experiments was crucial to avoid significant overestimation (up to 385%) of aerobic biotransformation rate constants. Predictions of in-sewer transformation provided here can reduce the uncertainty in the estimation of drug consumption as part of wastewater-based epidemiological studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pedram Ramin
- Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Department of Environmental Engineering, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Andreas Libonati Brock
- Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Department of Environmental Engineering, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Fabio Polesel
- Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Department of Environmental Engineering, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ana Causanilles
- KWR Watercycle Research Institute , P.O. Box 1072, 3430 BB Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
| | - Erik Emke
- KWR Watercycle Research Institute , P.O. Box 1072, 3430 BB Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
| | - Pim de Voogt
- KWR Watercycle Research Institute , P.O. Box 1072, 3430 BB Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam , P.O. Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Benedek Gy Plósz
- Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Department of Environmental Engineering, Miljøvej 113, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Snip LJP, Flores-Alsina X, Aymerich I, Rodríguez-Mozaz S, Barceló D, Plósz BG, Corominas L, Rodriguez-Roda I, Jeppsson U, Gernaey KV. Generation of synthetic influent data to perform (micro)pollutant wastewater treatment modelling studies. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2016; 569-570:278-290. [PMID: 27343947 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2016] [Revised: 04/27/2016] [Accepted: 05/02/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The use of process models to simulate the fate of micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants is constantly growing. However, due to the high workload and cost of measuring campaigns, many simulation studies lack sufficiently long time series representing realistic wastewater influent dynamics. In this paper, the feasibility of the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 2 (BSM2) influent generator is tested to create realistic dynamic influent (micro)pollutant disturbance scenarios. The presented set of models is adjusted to describe the occurrence of three pharmaceutical compounds and one of each of its metabolites with samples taken every 2-4h: the anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen (IBU), the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and the psychoactive carbamazepine (CMZ). Information about type of excretion and total consumption rates forms the basis for creating the data-defined profiles used to generate the dynamic time series. In addition, the traditional influent characteristics such as flow rate, ammonium, particulate chemical oxygen demand and temperature are also modelled using the same framework with high frequency data. The calibration is performed semi-automatically with two different methods depending on data availability. The 'traditional' variables are calibrated with the Bootstrap method while the pharmaceutical loads are estimated with a least squares approach. The simulation results demonstrate that the BSM2 influent generator can describe the dynamics of both traditional variables and pharmaceuticals. Lastly, the study is complemented with: 1) the generation of longer time series for IBU following the same catchment principles; 2) the study of the impact of in-sewer SMX biotransformation when estimating the average daily load; and, 3) a critical discussion of the results, and the future opportunities of the presented approach balancing model structure/calibration procedure complexity versus predictive capabilities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- L J P Snip
- CAPEC-PROCESS Research Center, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 229, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - X Flores-Alsina
- CAPEC-PROCESS Research Center, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 229, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - I Aymerich
- ICRA, Catalan Institute for Water Research, Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Girona, Emili Grahit, 101, E-17003 Girona, Spain
| | - S Rodríguez-Mozaz
- ICRA, Catalan Institute for Water Research, Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Girona, Emili Grahit, 101, E-17003 Girona, Spain
| | - D Barceló
- ICRA, Catalan Institute for Water Research, Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Girona, Emili Grahit, 101, E-17003 Girona, Spain; Water and Soil Quality Research Group, Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
| | - B G Plósz
- Urban Water Engineering (UWE) Section, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 115, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ll Corominas
- ICRA, Catalan Institute for Water Research, Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Girona, Emili Grahit, 101, E-17003 Girona, Spain
| | - I Rodriguez-Roda
- ICRA, Catalan Institute for Water Research, Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Girona, Emili Grahit, 101, E-17003 Girona, Spain; LEQUIA, Institute of the Environment, University of Girona, E17071 Girona, Spain
| | - U Jeppsson
- Division of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation (IEA), Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME), Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - K V Gernaey
- CAPEC-PROCESS Research Center, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 229, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Polesel F, Andersen HR, Trapp S, Plósz BG. Removal of Antibiotics in Biological Wastewater Treatment Systems-A Critical Assessment Using the Activated Sludge Modeling Framework for Xenobiotics (ASM-X). ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2016; 50:10316-10334. [PMID: 27479075 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b01899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Many scientific studies present removal efficiencies for pharmaceuticals in laboratory-, pilot-, and full-scale wastewater treatment plants, based on observations that may be impacted by theoretical and methodological approaches used. In this Critical Review, we evaluated factors influencing observed removal efficiencies of three antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline) in pilot- and full-scale biological treatment systems. Factors assessed include (i) retransformation to parent pharmaceuticals from e.g., conjugated metabolites and analogues, (ii) solid retention time (SRT), (iii) fractions sorbed onto solids, and (iv) dynamics in influent and effluent loading. A recently developed methodology was used, relying on the comparison of removal efficiency predictions (obtained with the Activated Sludge Model for Xenobiotics (ASM-X)) with representative measured data from literature. By applying this methodology, we demonstrated that (a) the elimination of sulfamethoxazole may be significantly underestimated when not considering retransformation from conjugated metabolites, depending on the type (urban or hospital) and size of upstream catchments; (b) operation at extended SRT may enhance antibiotic removal, as shown for sulfamethoxazole; (c) not accounting for fractions sorbed in influent and effluent solids may cause slight underestimation of ciprofloxacin removal efficiency. Using tetracycline as example substance, we ultimately evaluated implications of effluent dynamics and retransformation on environmental exposure and risk prediction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Polesel
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Bygningstorvet 115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Henrik R Andersen
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Bygningstorvet 115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Stefan Trapp
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Bygningstorvet 115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Benedek Gy Plósz
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) , Bygningstorvet 115, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
McCall AK, Bade R, Kinyua J, Lai FY, Thai PK, Covaci A, Bijlsma L, van Nuijs ALN, Ort C. Critical review on the stability of illicit drugs in sewers and wastewater samples. WATER RESEARCH 2016; 88:933-947. [PMID: 26618807 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2015.10.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 193] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2015] [Revised: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 10/18/2015] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) applies advanced analytical methods to quantify drug residues in wastewater with the aim to estimate illicit drug use at the population level. Transformation processes during transport in sewers (chemical and biological reactors) and storage of wastewater samples before analysis are expected to change concentrations of different drugs to varying degrees. Ignoring transformation for drugs with low to medium stability will lead to an unknown degree of systematic under- or overestimation of drug use, which should be avoided. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge related to the stability of commonly investigated drugs and, furthermore, suggest a more effective approach to future experiments. From over 100 WBE studies, around 50 mentioned the importance of stability and 24 included tests in wastewater. Most focused on in-sample stability (i.e., sample preparation, preservation and storage) and some extrapolated to in-sewer stability (i.e., during transport in real sewers). While consistent results were reported for rather stable compounds (e.g., MDMA and methamphetamine), a varying range of stability under different or similar conditions was observed for other compounds (e.g., cocaine, amphetamine and morphine). Wastewater composition can vary considerably over time, and different conditions prevail in different sewer systems. In summary, this indicates that more systematic studies are needed to: i) cover the range of possible conditions in sewers and ii) compare results more objectively. To facilitate the latter, we propose a set of parameters that should be reported for in-sewer stability experiments. Finally, a best practice of sample collection, preservation, and preparation before analysis is suggested in order to minimize transformation during these steps.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ann-Kathrin McCall
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, CH 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Richard Bade
- Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, University Jaume I, Avda. Sos Baynat, E-12071 Castellón, Spain
| | - Juliet Kinyua
- Toxicological Centre, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp (UA), Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Foon Yin Lai
- The University of Queensland, The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), 39 Kessels Rd., Coopers Plains, Brisbane, QLD 4108, Australia
| | - Phong K Thai
- The University of Queensland, The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), 39 Kessels Rd., Coopers Plains, Brisbane, QLD 4108, Australia; Queensland University of Technology, International Laboratory for Air Quality & Health, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Adrian Covaci
- Toxicological Centre, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp (UA), Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Lubertus Bijlsma
- Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, University Jaume I, Avda. Sos Baynat, E-12071 Castellón, Spain
| | - Alexander L N van Nuijs
- Toxicological Centre, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp (UA), Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Christoph Ort
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, CH 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Rosi-Marshall EJ, Snow D, Bartelt-Hunt SL, Paspalof A, Tank JL. A review of ecological effects and environmental fate of illicit drugs in aquatic ecosystems. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2015; 282:18-25. [PMID: 25062553 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.06.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2014] [Revised: 06/19/2014] [Accepted: 06/27/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Although illicit drugs are detected in surface waters throughout the world, their environmental fate and ecological effects are not well understood. Many illicit drugs and their breakdown products have been detected in surface waters and temporal and spatial variability in use translates into "hot spots and hot moments" of occurrence. Illicit drug occurrence in regions of production and use and areas with insufficient wastewater treatment are not well studied and should be targeted for further study. Evidence suggests that illicit drugs may not be persistent, as their half-lives are relatively short, but may exhibit "pseudo-persistence" wherein continual use results in persistent occurrence. We reviewed the literature on the ecological effects of these compounds on aquatic organisms and although research is limited, a wide array of aquatic organisms, including bacteria, algae, invertebrates, and fishes, have receptors that make them potentially sensitive to these compounds. In summary, illicit drugs occur in surface waters and aquatic organisms may be affected by these compounds; research is needed that focuses on concentrations of illicit drugs in areas of production and high use, environmental fate of these compounds, and effects of these compounds on aquatic ecosystems at the concentrations that typically occur in the environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- E J Rosi-Marshall
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA.
| | - D Snow
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0844, USA
| | | | - A Paspalof
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0844, USA
| | - J L Tank
- University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Gao J, O'Brien J, Lai FY, van Nuijs ALN, He J, Mueller JF, Xu J, Thai PK. Could wastewater analysis be a useful tool for China? - A review. J Environ Sci (China) 2015; 27:70-9. [PMID: 25597664 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2014.09.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2014] [Revised: 09/29/2014] [Accepted: 09/29/2014] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Analysing wastewater samples is an innovative approach that overcomes many limitations of traditional surveys to identify and measure a range of chemicals that were consumed by or exposed to people living in a sewer catchment area. First conceptualised in 2001, much progress has been made to make wastewater analysis (WWA) a reliable and robust tool for measuring chemical consumption and/or exposure. At the moment, the most popular application of WWA, sometimes referred as sewage epidemiology, is to monitor the consumption of illicit drugs in communities around the globe, including China. The approach has been largely adopted by law enforcement agencies as a device to monitor the temporal and geographical patterns of drug consumption. In the future, the methodology can be extended to other chemicals including biomarkers of population health (e.g. environmental or oxidative stress biomarkers, lifestyle indicators or medications that are taken by different demographic groups) and pollutants that people are exposed to (e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, perfluorinated chemicals, and toxic pesticides). The extension of WWA to a huge range of chemicals may give rise to a field called sewage chemical-information mining (SCIM) with unexplored potentials. China has many densely populated cities with thousands of sewage treatment plants which are favourable for applying WWA/SCIM in order to help relevant authorities gather information about illicit drug consumption and population health status. However, there are some prerequisites and uncertainties of the methodology that should be addressed for SCIM to reach its full potential in China.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jianfa Gao
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China.
| | - Jake O'Brien
- National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4108, Australia
| | - Foon Yin Lai
- National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4108, Australia
| | | | - Jun He
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China
| | - Jochen F Mueller
- National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4108, Australia
| | - Jingsha Xu
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China
| | - Phong K Thai
- National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4108, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Occurrence and Fate of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Wastewater. PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPS): ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES, ENVIRONMENTAL FATE AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-63299-9.00007-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
|
35
|
Fernandez-Fontaina E, Carballa M, Omil F, Lema JM. Modelling cometabolic biotransformation of organic micropollutants in nitrifying reactors. WATER RESEARCH 2014; 65:371-383. [PMID: 25150522 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2014.07.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2014] [Revised: 07/29/2014] [Accepted: 07/30/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Cometabolism is the ability of microorganisms to degrade non-growth substrates in the presence of primary substrates, being the main removal mechanism behind the biotransformation of organic micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants. In this paper, a cometabolic Monod-type kinetics, linking biotransformation of micropollutants with primary substrate degradation, was applied to a highly enriched nitrifying activated sludge (NAS) reactor operated under different operational conditions (hydraulic retention time (HRT) and nitrifying activity). A dynamic model of the bioreactor was built taking into account biotransformation, sorption and volatilization. The micropollutant transformation capacity (Tc), the half-saturation constant (Ksc) and the solid-liquid partitioning coefficient (Kd) of several organic micropollutants were estimated at 25 °C using an optimization algorithm to fit experimental data to the proposed model with the cometabolic Monod-type biotransformation kinetics. The cometabolic Monod-type kinetic model was validated under different HRTs (1.0-3.7 d) and nitrification rates (0.12-0.45 g N/g VSS d), describing more accurately the fate of those compounds affected by the biological activity of nitrifiers (ibuprofen, naproxen, erythromycin and roxithromycin) compared to the commonly applied pseudo-first order micropollutant biotransformation kinetics, which does not link biotransformation of micropollutants to consumption of primary substrate. Furthermore, in contrast to the pseudo-first order biotransformation constant (k(biol)), the proposed cometabolic kinetic coefficients are independent of operational conditions such as the nitrogen loading rate applied. Also, the influence of the kinetic parameters on the biotransformation efficiency of NAS reactors, defined as the relative amount of the total inlet micropollutant load being biotransformed, was assessed considering different HRTs and nitrification rates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- E Fernandez-Fontaina
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Technology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - M Carballa
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Technology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - F Omil
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Technology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - J M Lema
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Technology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Reid MJ, Baz-Lomba JA, Ryu Y, Thomas KV. Using biomarkers in wastewater to monitor community drug use: a conceptual approach for dealing with new psychoactive substances. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2014; 487:651-8. [PMID: 24412561 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.12.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2013] [Revised: 12/11/2013] [Accepted: 12/11/2013] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Data obtained from the analysis of wastewater from large-scale sewage treatment plants has been successfully applied to study trends in the use of classical illicit drugs such as cocaine, but the dynamic nature of the new psychoactive substances (NPS) market presents a unique set of challenges to epidemiologists. In an attempt to overcome some of the challenges, this paper presents a framework whereby a collection of tools and alternative data-sources can be used to support the design and implementation of wastewater-based studies on NPS use. Within this framework the most likely and most suitable biomarkers for a given NPS are predicted via in-silico metabolism, biotransformation and sorption models. Subsequent detection and confirmation of the biomarkers in samples of wastewater are addressed via high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The proposed framework is applied to a set of test substances including synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones. In general, the in-silico models predict that transformation via N-dealkylation and hydroxylation is likely for these compounds, and that adsorption is expected to be significant for cannabinoids in wastewater. Screening via HRMS is discussed with examples from the literature, and common-fragment searching and mass-defect filtering are successfully performed on test samples such that spectral noise is removed to leave only the information that is most likely to be related to the NPS biomarkers. HRMS screening is also applied to a set of pissoir-sourced wastewater samples and a total of 48 pharmaceuticals and drugs including 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)piperazine (oMeOPP) are identified. The framework outlined in this paper can provide an excellent means of maximizing the chances of success when identifying and detecting biomarkers of NPS in wastewater.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Malcolm J Reid
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Gaustadalleen 21, N-0349 Oslo, Norway.
| | - J A Baz-Lomba
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Gaustadalleen 21, N-0349 Oslo, Norway
| | - Yeonsuk Ryu
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Gaustadalleen 21, N-0349 Oslo, Norway
| | - Kevin V Thomas
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Gaustadalleen 21, N-0349 Oslo, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Castiglioni S, Thomas KV, Kasprzyk-Hordern B, Vandam L, Griffiths P. Testing wastewater to detect illicit drugs: state of the art, potential and research needs. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2014; 487:613-20. [PMID: 24963530 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.10.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Illicit drug use is a global phenomenon involving millions of individuals, which results in serious health and social costs. The chemical analysis of urban wastewater for the excretion products of illicit drugs is a potent approach for monitoring patterns and trends of illicit drug use in a community. The first international and multidisciplinary conference on this topic was recently organized to present the epidemiological knowledge of patterns in drug use and the information obtained from wastewater analysis. This paper gives an overview of the main issues that emerged during the conference, focusing on the identified research gaps and requirements and on the future challenges and opportunities from bringing together wastewater analysis and drug epidemiology. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) uses an established multi-indicator system to monitor illicit drug use and to identify the emergence of new psychoactive substances. The methodological challenges of monitoring a hidden and stigmatized behavior like drug use include the limitations of self-report data and reporting delays. An increasing evidence base suggests that wastewater analysis can address some of these problems. Specifically this technique can: monitor temporal and spatial trends in drug use at different scales, provide updated estimates of drug use, and identify changing habits and the use of new substances. A best practice protocol developed by a Europe-wide network of experts is available to produce homogeneous and comparable data at different sites. The systematic evaluation of uncertainties related to wastewater analysis has highlighted which areas require careful control and those that need further investigation to generally improve the approach. Wastewater analysis has considerable potential to complement existing approaches for monitoring drug use due to its ability to produce objective, real-time estimates of drug use and to give timely information of any change in the patterns of use.
Collapse
|
38
|
Senta I, Krizman I, Ahel M, Terzic S. Assessment of stability of drug biomarkers in municipal wastewater as a factor influencing the estimation of drug consumption using sewage epidemiology. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2014; 487:659-65. [PMID: 24411995 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.12.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2013] [Revised: 12/05/2013] [Accepted: 12/05/2013] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Stability of the selected urinary biomarkers of six illicit drugs and two therapeutic opioids in municipal wastewater was studied in order to determine errors associated with their possible transformation in the sewer. The stability was assessed in experiments conducted at 10°C and 20°C in order to simulate typical winter and summer temperature conditions in the sewer system. Among fourteen substances tested, the most unstable compounds were morphine-3-β-D glucuronide (MG), 6-acetyl morphine (6-AM), cocaine (COC) and 6-acetyl codeine (6-AC), while all other investigated compounds appeared to be relatively stable over a period of 72 h. The transformation of all degradable compounds followed pseudo-first order kinetics with significantly longer half-times (t1/2) at winter conditions. At 20°C, t1/2 of MG, 6-AM, COC and 6-AC was 7h, 87 h, 35 h and 58 h, respectively, while the corresponding t1/2 values at 10°C were 18 h, 139 h, 173 h and 87 h. The main transformation mechanism of MG, 6-AM and 6-AC was most probably their enzymatic hydrolysis to morphine (MOR) and codeine (COD), while COC transformation to benzoylecgonine (BE) was primarily governed by chemical hydrolysis. The results indicate that the effect of the observed transformation of urinary biomarkers of COC and 6-AM on the estimates of COC and heroin consumption are relatively small (<10%) if the in-sewer hydraulic retention time is lower than 12h. Acidification of the wastewater samples proved to be the good way to stabilise the wastewater samples for the analysis of all selected compounds, except for 11-nor-9-carboxy-∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH). This finding should be taken into account when selecting the preservation technique for multiresidual analyses of different groups of illicit drugs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Senta
- Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Bijenicka c. 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivona Krizman
- Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Bijenicka c. 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Marijan Ahel
- Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Bijenicka c. 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Senka Terzic
- Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Bijenicka c. 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Thai PK, O'Brien J, Jiang G, Gernjak W, Yuan Z, Eaglesham G, Mueller JF. Degradability of creatinine under sewer conditions affects its potential to be used as biomarker in sewage epidemiology. WATER RESEARCH 2014; 55:272-9. [PMID: 24631876 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2014.02.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2013] [Revised: 02/03/2014] [Accepted: 02/15/2014] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Creatinine was proposed to be used as a population normalising factor in sewage epidemiology but its stability in the sewer system has not been assessed. This study thus aimed to evaluate the fate of creatinine under different sewer conditions using laboratory sewer reactors. The results showed that while creatinine was stable in wastewater only, it degraded quickly in reactors with the presence of sewer biofilms. The degradation followed first order kinetics with significantly higher rate in rising main condition than in gravity sewer condition. Additionally, daily loads of creatinine were determined in wastewater samples collected on Census day from 10 wastewater treatment plants around Australia. The measured loads of creatinine from those samples were much lower than expected and did not correlate with the populations across the sampled treatment plants. The results suggested that creatinine may not be a suitable biomarker for population normalisation purpose in sewage epidemiology, especially in sewer catchment with high percentage of rising mains.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Phong K Thai
- The University of Queensland, The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), 39 Kessels Rd., Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia.
| | - Jake O'Brien
- The University of Queensland, The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), 39 Kessels Rd., Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia
| | - Guangming Jiang
- The University of Queensland, Advanced Water Management Centre, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Wolfgang Gernjak
- The University of Queensland, Advanced Water Management Centre, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Zhiguo Yuan
- The University of Queensland, Advanced Water Management Centre, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Geoff Eaglesham
- The University of Queensland, The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), 39 Kessels Rd., Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia
| | - Jochen F Mueller
- The University of Queensland, The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), 39 Kessels Rd., Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Ort C, Eppler JM, Scheidegger A, Rieckermann J, Kinzig M, Sörgel F. Challenges of surveying wastewater drug loads of small populations and generalizable aspects on optimizing monitoring design. Addiction 2014; 109:472-81. [PMID: 24325468 DOI: 10.1111/add.12405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2013] [Revised: 08/14/2013] [Accepted: 10/25/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
AIMS Quantifying illicit drug loads through wastewater analysis (WWA) is an alternative approach to estimating population drug use. This study investigated the variability of daily drug loads in wastewater and their relationships to environmental factors over an extended period to: (i) explore the suitability of WWA in small populations and (ii) optimize the monitoring design for future studies. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS Daily wastewater samples (n = 1369 consecutive days) from a German village with approximately 7160 inhabitants. MEASUREMENTS Samples were analysed for cocaine and benzoylecgonine with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Time-series analysis was used to explore the effects of weather and other factors on daily cocaine loads. Subsampling was used to assess monitoring design. FINDINGS Cocaine loads [mean = 652 mgCOC /day, standard deviation (SD) = 498 mgCOC /day] increased over the study period, with higher values during winter and spring. Despite high day-to-day variation, loads were significantly higher during weekends [+161 mgCOC /day, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 115-207 mgCOC /day, P < 10(-4) ] and days with frost (+114 mgCOC /day, 95% CI = 6-223 mgCOC /day, P = 0.039) or snow (+150 mgCOC /day, 95% CI = 46-253 mgCOC /day, P = 0.005). Annual means estimated from 1-week periods were subject to approximately 60% relative error. Increasing sample size and changing sampling from consecutive days to stratified random decreased this uncertainty. CONCLUSIONS Day-to-day variation and seasonality of drug loads from the few long-term wastewater studies available to date suggest that up to 56 stratified random samples are required to obtain reliable (expected uncertainty around 10%) annual estimates of drug loads. Successfully assessing changes in consumption patterns or relationships to external factors requires larger sample sizes than estimating annual means, which holds true for high-prevalence drugs in small communities and low-prevalence drugs in big cities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Ort
- Urban Water Management, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
41
|
Bisceglia KJ, Lippa KA. Stability of cocaine and its metabolites in municipal wastewater--the case for using metabolite consolidation to monitor cocaine utilization. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2014; 21:4453-4460. [PMID: 24337995 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-013-2403-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2013] [Accepted: 11/25/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Transformations of cocaine and eleven of its metabolites were investigated in untreated municipal sewage at pH ≈ 7 and 9, 23, and 31 °C. Results indicated that hydrolysis-possibly bacterially mediated-was the principal transformation pathway. Residues possessing alkyl esters were particularly susceptible to hydrolysis, with pseudo-first-order rate constants varying from 0.54 to 1.7 day(-1) at 23 °C. Metabolites lacking esters or possessing only a benzoyl ester appeared stable. Residues lacking alkyl esters did accumulate through hydrolysis of precursors, however. As noted previously, this may positively bias cocaine utilization estimates based on benzoylecgonine alone. Reported variability in metabolic excretion was used in conjunction with transformation data to evaluate different approaches for estimating cocaine loading. Results indicate that estimates derived from measurands that capture all major cocaine metabolites, such as COCtot (the sum of all measurable metabolites) and EChyd (the sum of all metabolites that can be hydrolyzed to ecgonine), may reduce uncertainty arising from variability in metabolite transformation and excretion, possibly to ≈ 10 % RSD. This is more than a two-fold reduction relative to estimates derived from benzoylecgonine (>26 % RSD), and roughly equivalent to reported uncertainties from sources that are not metabolite-specific (e.g., sampling frequency, flow variability). They and other composite measurands merit consideration from the sewage epidemiology community, beginning with efforts to evaluate the stability of the total cocaine load under realistic sewer conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin J Bisceglia
- Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA,
| | | |
Collapse
|
42
|
Thai PK, Jiang G, Gernjak W, Yuan Z, Lai FY, Mueller JF. Effects of sewer conditions on the degradation of selected illicit drug residues in wastewater. WATER RESEARCH 2014; 48:538-547. [PMID: 24169511 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2013.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2013] [Revised: 09/26/2013] [Accepted: 10/04/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The stability of five illicit drug markers in wastewater was tested under different sewer conditions using laboratory-scale sewer reactors. Wastewater was spiked with deuterium labelled isotopes of cocaine, benzoyl ecgonine, methamphetamine, MDMA and 6-acetyl morphine to avoid interference from the native isotopes already present in the wastewater matrix. The sewer reactors were operated at 20 °C and pH 7.5, and wastewater was sampled at 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and 12 h to measure the transformation/degradation of these marker compounds. The results showed that while methamphetamine, MDMA and benzoyl ecgonine were stable in the sewer reactors, cocaine and 6-acetyl morphine degraded quickly. Their degradation rates are significantly higher than the values reportedly measured in wastewater alone (without biofilms). All the degradation processes followed first order kinetics. Benzoyl ecgonine and morphine were also formed from the degradation of cocaine and 6-acetyl morphine, respectively, with stable formation rates throughout the test. These findings suggest that, in sewage epidemiology, it is essential to have relevant information of the sewer system (i.e. type of sewer, hydraulic retention time) in order to accurately back-estimate the consumption of illicit drugs. More research is required to look into detailed sewer conditions (e.g. temperature, pH and ratio of biofilm area to wastewater volume among others) to identify their effects on the fate of illicit drug markers in sewer systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Phong K Thai
- The University of Queensland, The National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), 39 Kessels Rd., Coopers Plains, Brisbane, QLD 4108, Australia.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|