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Durán-Álvarez JC, Prado B, Zanella R, Rodríguez M, Díaz S. Wastewater surveillance of pharmaceuticals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico City and the Mezquital Valley: A comprehensive environmental risk assessment. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 900:165886. [PMID: 37524191 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
This study tracked five pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in Mexico City's sewage, namely, famotidine, indomethacin, dexamethasone, azithromycin, and ivermectin, which were used to treat COVID-19. The monitoring campaign was carried out over 30 months (May 2020 to November 2022), covering the five COVID-19 waves in Mexico. In the Central Emitter, the main sewage outflow, famotidine displayed levels of 132.57 ± 28.16 ng L-1 (range from < LOQ to 189.1 ng L-1), followed by indomethacin (average 672.46 ± 116.4 ng L-1, range from 516.7 to 945.2 ng L-1), dexamethasone (average 610.4 ± 225.7 ng L-1, range from 233.4 to 1044.5 ng L-1), azithromycin (average 4436.2 ± 903.6 ng L-1, range from 2873.7 to 5819.6 ng L-1), and ivermectin (average 3413.3 ± 1244.6 ng L-1, range from 1219.8 to 4622.4 ng L-1). The concentrations of dexamethasone, azithromycin and ivermectin were higher in sewage from a temporary COVID-19 care unit, by a factor of 3.48, 3.52 and 2.55, respectively, compared with those found in municipal wastewater. In the effluent of the Atotonilco Wastewater Treatment Plant (AWWTP), which treats near 60 % of the Mexico City's sewage, famotidine was absent, while concentrations of indomethacin, dexamethasone, azithromycin and ivermectin were 78.2 %, 76.7 %, 74.4 %, and 88.1 % lower than those in the influent, respectively. The occurrence of PhACs in treated and untreated wastewater resulted in medium to high environmental risk since Mexico City's wastewater is reused for irrigation in the Mezquital Valley. There, PhACs were found in irrigation canals at lower levels than those observed in Mexico City throughout the monitoring. On the other hand, famotidine, indomethacin, and dexamethasone were not found in surface water resulting from the infiltration of wastewater through soil in Mezquital Valley, while azithromycin and ivermectin sporadically appeared in surface water samples collected through 2021. Using an optimized risk assessment based on a semi-probabilistic approach, the PhACs were prioritized as ivermectin > azithromycin > dexamethasone > famotidine > indomethacin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan C Durán-Álvarez
- Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (ICAT-UNAM), Circuito Exterior S/N, 04510 Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico.
| | - Blanca Prado
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales y del Suelo, Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P. 04510 Mexico, Mexico
| | - Rodolfo Zanella
- Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (ICAT-UNAM), Circuito Exterior S/N, 04510 Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
| | - Mario Rodríguez
- Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (ICAT-UNAM), Circuito Exterior S/N, 04510 Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
| | - Suhaila Díaz
- Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales y del Suelo, Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, C.P. 04510 Mexico, Mexico
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Garduño-Jiménez AL, Durán-Álvarez JC, Ortori CA, Abdelrazig S, Barrett DA, Gomes RL. Delivering on sustainable development goals in wastewater reuse for agriculture: Initial prioritization of emerging pollutants in the Tula Valley, Mexico. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 238:119903. [PMID: 37121200 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater reuse for agricultural irrigation is a widespread beneficial practice, in line with the sustainable development goals. However, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) present in wastewater, such as pharmaceuticals, pose an environmental risk. The Tula Valley in Mexico is one of the world's largest agricultural areas reusing wastewater for agriculture. However, no untargeted CEC monitoring has been undertaken there, limiting the information available to prioritise local environmental risk assessment. Furthermore, CEC environmental presence in the Global South remains understudied, compared to the Global North. There is a risk that current research efforts focus on CECs predominantly found in the Global North, leading to strategies that may not be appropriate for the Global South where the pollution profile may be different. To address these knowledge gaps, a sampling campaign at five key sites in the Tula Valley was undertaken and samples analysed using multi-residue targeted and untargeted liquid chromatography mass spectrometry methods. Using the targeted data, ten CECs were found to be of environmental risk for at least one sampling site: 4‑tert-octylphenol, acetaminophen, bezafibrate, diclofenac, erythromycin, levonorgestrel, simvastatin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and tramadol as well as total estrogenicity (combination of three steroid hormones). Six of these have not been previously quantified in the Tula Valley. Over one hundred pollutants never previously measured in the area were identified through untargeted analysis supported by library spectrum match. Examples include diclofenac and carbamazepine metabolites and area-specific pollutants such as the herbicide fomesafen. This research contributes to characterising the presence of CECs in the Global South, as well as providing site-specific data for the Tula Valley.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea-Lorena Garduño-Jiménez
- Food Water Waste Research Group. Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottinghamshire, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Juan-Carlos Durán-Álvarez
- Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacan, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico
| | - Catharine A Ortori
- Centre for Analytical Bioscience, Advanced Materials and Healthcare Technologies Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottinghamshire, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Salah Abdelrazig
- Centre for Analytical Bioscience, Advanced Materials and Healthcare Technologies Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottinghamshire, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - David A Barrett
- Centre for Analytical Bioscience, Advanced Materials and Healthcare Technologies Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottinghamshire, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Rachel L Gomes
- Food Water Waste Research Group. Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottinghamshire, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom.
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Fonseca-Salazar MA, Díaz-Avalos C, Rochin-García H, Espinosa-García AC, Mazari-Hiriart M. Risk transfer from a megacity to a peri-urban agricultural community: wastewater reuse and effects on groundwater quality. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2021; 193:741. [PMID: 34674049 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-021-09520-1] [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: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Urban wastewater is a resource that can be reused, but its management must be carefully executed, considering its potential impact on public and environmental health. Unfortunately, marked differences in the quality of treatment, management, collection, and the monitoring of wastewater exist among low-, middle-, and high-income countries. This is the case of the Mezquital Valley, a semi-rural area that is composed of agricultural and industrial communities on the outskirts of Mexico City. For over 100 years, wastewater from Mexico City and its areas of conurbation has been sent to the Mezquital Valley, with few studies having been conducted to assess the existence and severity of bacterial and pathogen infiltration into the local aquifer. In this research, we present an assessment of wastewater infiltration transported from Mexico City, used for irrigation, with potential infiltration into the Mezquital Valley aquifer. We utilized stable isotope analysis of deuterium and oxygen-18 to determine whether a mixture of untreated wastewater from the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) flows into the Mezquital aquifer. Also, tests for adenovirus, rotavirus, fecal coliform, fecal enterococci, Giardia lamblia, and Cryptosporidium parvum were employed to determine the presence of fecal indicators and pathogens in different water sources in the study area. The results show the presence of indicators and pathogens in local wells used as water supply in Mezquital Valley. The presence of such indicators suggests that pathogens can reach the water consumed by the inhabitants, posing a hazard to persons exposed to these waters during their normal daily-life activities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carlos Díaz-Avalos
- Departamento de Probabilidad Y Estadística, Instituto de Invsetigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico.
| | - Hermes Rochin-García
- Posgrado en Ciencias de La Tierra, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Ana Cecilia Espinosa-García
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de La Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Marisa Mazari-Hiriart
- Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de La Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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Coronado Y, Navarro R, Mosqueda C, Valenzuela V, Pérez JP, González-Mendoza V, de la Torre M, Rocha J. SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater from Mexico City used for irrigation in the Mezquital Valley: quantification and modeling of geographic dispersion. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 68:580-590. [PMID: 34370090 PMCID: PMC8350920 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-021-01516-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in urban wastewaters has emerged as a cheap, efficient strategy to follow trends of active COVID-19 cases in populations. Moreover, mathematical models have been developed that allow the prediction of active cases following the temporal patterns of viral loads in wastewaters. In Mexico, no systematic efforts have been reported in the use of these strategies. In this work, we quantified SARS-CoV-2 in rivers and irrigation canals in the Mezquital Valley, Hidalgo, an agricultural region where wastewater from Mexico City is distributed and used for irrigation. Using quantitative RT-PCR, we detected the virus in six out of eight water samples from rivers and five out of eight water samples from irrigation canals. Notably, samples showed a general consistent trend of having the highest viral loads in the sites closer to Mexico City, indicating that this is the main source that contributes to detection. Using the data for SARS-CoV-2 concentration in the river samples, we generated a simplified transport model that describes the spatial patterns of dispersion of virus in the river. We suggest that this model can be extrapolated to other wastewater systems where knowledge of spatial patterns of viral dispersion, at a geographic scale, is required. Our work highlights the need for improved practices and policies related to the use of wastewater for irrigation in Mexico and other countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaxk'in Coronado
- Conacyt-Unidad Regional Hidalgo, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo. Ciudad del Conocimiento y la Cultura de Hidalgo, Blvd. Santa Catarina S/N, San Agustín Tlaxiaca, Hidalgo, México, 42163
| | - Roberto Navarro
- Unidad Regional Hidalgo. Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Ciudad del Conocimiento y la Cultura de Hidalgo, Blvd. Santa Catarina S/N, San Agustín Tlaxiaca, Hidalgo, México, 42163
| | - Carlos Mosqueda
- Unidad Regional Hidalgo. Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Ciudad del Conocimiento y la Cultura de Hidalgo, Blvd. Santa Catarina S/N, San Agustín Tlaxiaca, Hidalgo, México, 42163
- Instituto Tecnológico de Celaya, Antonio García Cubas 600, Fovissste, Celaya, Gto, 38010, México
| | - Valeria Valenzuela
- Unidad Regional Hidalgo. Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Ciudad del Conocimiento y la Cultura de Hidalgo, Blvd. Santa Catarina S/N, San Agustín Tlaxiaca, Hidalgo, México, 42163
- Universidad Tecnológica de Querétaro, Av. Pie de la Cuesta 2501, Nacional, Santiago de Querétaro, Qro., 76148, México
| | - Juan Pablo Pérez
- Unidad Regional Hidalgo. Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Ciudad del Conocimiento y la Cultura de Hidalgo, Blvd. Santa Catarina S/N, San Agustín Tlaxiaca, Hidalgo, México, 42163
| | - Víctor González-Mendoza
- Conacyt-Unidad Regional Hidalgo, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo. Ciudad del Conocimiento y la Cultura de Hidalgo, Blvd. Santa Catarina S/N, San Agustín Tlaxiaca, Hidalgo, México, 42163
| | - Mayra de la Torre
- Unidad Regional Hidalgo. Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Ciudad del Conocimiento y la Cultura de Hidalgo, Blvd. Santa Catarina S/N, San Agustín Tlaxiaca, Hidalgo, México, 42163
| | - Jorge Rocha
- Conacyt-Unidad Regional Hidalgo, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo. Ciudad del Conocimiento y la Cultura de Hidalgo, Blvd. Santa Catarina S/N, San Agustín Tlaxiaca, Hidalgo, México, 42163.
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Feregrino-Mondragón RD, Vega-Segura A, Sánchez-Thomas R, Silva-Flores M, Rodríguez-Zavala JS, Marín-Hernández Á, Pérez-Torres I, Torres-Márquez ME, Moreno-Sánchez R, Jasso-Chávez R. The essential role of mitochondria in the consumption of waste-organic matter and production of metabolites of biotechnological interest in Euglena gracilis. ALGAL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2021.102302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Water Availability-Demand Balance under Climate Change Scenarios in an Overpopulated Region of Mexico. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18041846. [PMID: 33672845 PMCID: PMC7918467 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18041846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Climate change scenarios show that water availability could be decreasing in the near future, adding to the increasing problem of the growing water demands in socioeconomic sectors. The aim of this work was to generate a geographically explicit water balance concerning availability vs. demand in an overpopulated region of Mexico. Water balance and water deficit models were made for three periods of time: 1970-2000, and two future periods of time (2041-2060 and 2061-2080). Three global climate models were used in addition to two different climate scenarios from each (Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) RCP 4.6 and RCP 8.5). Water demand for socioeconomic sectors was calculated through the water footprint. Water availability was 197,644.58 hm3/year, while that the water demand was 59,187 hm3/year. The socioeconomic sectors with the highest demand were domestic services (48%), agriculture (27%), livestock agriculture (20%), and timber production (5%). The highest water availability areas were not the same as those with the highest demand and vice versa. However, 39% of municipalities had a higher water demand than its availability. A significant reduction in water availability was identified, considering an interval of -15% to 40%. This variation depends on climate models, scenarios, and period of time. Areas with overpopulated cities in the region would have higher pressure on water availability. These results could be used in the implementation of public policies by focusing on adaptation strategies to reduce water deficit in the immediate future.
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