Emerging contaminants in surface and Drainage Water By Shiv
1. Emerging Contaminants in Surface and Drainage Waters Shiv O. Prasher et al. Department of Bioresource Engineering McGill University, Montreal, Canada
2. Outline Emerging Contaminants Environmental Concerns Pharmaceuticals in the Environment Pharmaceuticals in Manure Experimental/Field Work Preliminary Results Further Work
5. What are pharmaceuticals? Pharmaceuticals are medications - prescription drugs, i.e. hormones, antidepressants and antibiotics; over-the-counter medications, such as pain relievers, cold/flu remedies, antiseptics; and veterinary medicines
8. Pharmaceuticals in Surface Waters 50% of streams in the US contain some level of antibiotics Human use of antibiotics is always therapeutic Veterinary use, however, is therapeutic and subtherapeutic (growth promotion and prophylactic) Up to 84% antibiotic use in the US is subtherapeutic - 9 to 11 million kg
9. Pharmaceuticals in Surface WatersDolliver and Gupta (2008) However, 70 to 90% of the antibiotics fed are excreted in manure Annually, manure is applied to over 9.2 million ha of land in the US Manure may contain antibiotics from trace levels to >200 mg kg-1 or L-1, with typical concentrations in the 1 to 10 mg kg-1 or L-1 Most antibiotics used for animals are similar to those given to humans
10. Manure Production in Canada Manure production in Canada has increased by 16% between 1981 and 2006 Over180 million metric tons of manure is produced annually (38% by beef cows, 12% by dairy,12% by calves, 12% by heifers, 10% by steers, 9% by pigs, 3% by poultry, 2% by horses, 2% bulls, <1% by sheep Beef cows generate 37 kg d-1 Milk cows produce 62 kg d-1 Pigs make between 1 and 4 kg d-1 Poultry produce less than 1 kg d-1
11. 130 times more animal waste is produced in the US than human waste http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/cesspools/cesspools.pdf
12. Indicator Microbial Populations in Lagoon Water Samples(Bradford et al., 2008)
15. Estimated environmental loading of metals, total antibiotics, total estrogen hormones, and total indicator microbes when lagoon waters are applied to 1 m2 area of agricultural field to meet nitrogen needs of corn during a 90-d summer growing season (assuming ET rate of 10 mm d-1; Bradford et al., 2008)
16. Human Use/Overuse of Pharmaceuticals http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/AssessingRisk/PPCP/upload/01_Daughton.pdf
19. Biosolids for Land Application Also known as sewage sludge Produced as part of normal wastewater treatment Biosolids are rich in organic carbon thus have beneficial use Must meet regulations for nutrient, metal and pathogen content before land application
20. Biosolids for Land ApplicationKinney et al. (2006) Average wastewater treatment plant generates 240 kg dry weight of solids per million liters of wastewater treated In 2006, 8x106 dry tons of biosolids were produced in the US 50% of the biosolids are land applied in the US Remaining 50% are incinerated or disposed of in landfills
22. Ecological Impact of PPCPsPseudo-Persistent Chemicals Most drugs tend to have shorter half-lives than conventional contaminants However, although in small quantities, drugs are introduced continuously to the environment This may make the exposure of drugs to aquatic ecosystems similar to that from conventional contaminants Pseudo-persistent chemicals – half-lives are exceeded by their continuous introduction rates through WWTP effluents
23. Ecological Impact of PPCPs Reproductive hormones found in 21% of 139 streams across US in a national reconnaissance survey (Ying et al., 2002) – affect endocrine and reproductive systems Among the hormones found, 17β-estradioland testosterone are, respectively, principal regulators of the development, maintenance, and function of female and male vertebrate reproductive organs Estradiol concentrations as low as 0.001 µg L-1 can feminize wild male fish Methyltestosterone concentration of 0.027 µg L-1masculinized fish populations in vitro
24. Effects of Pharmaceuticals on Fish Health Fathead minnows, grown from egg to adulthood in the presence of as little as three parts-per-trillion (3 ng L-1) of synthetic estrogen (used in birth control pills), got completely feminized A human female, using the birth control pill, will excrete this amount in her urine in one day This amount of synthetic estrogen is like one birth control pill in 10,000 L of water
25. Drugs in Drinking Water DrugUseMax. Conc.Country (ng L-1) Carbamazepine Anti-epileptic 24 Canada 258 USA Gemfibrozil Lipid regulator 70 Canada Diazepam Psychiatric 10 UK Ibuprofen Analgesic and 3 Germany anti-pyretic
26. Impacts on Humans http://www.enviroadvisory.com/2006presentations/ChrisMetcalfe_files/frame.htm
27. Impacts on Humans Chronic exposure to mixture of drugs at low concentrations "What is the long-term effect of drinking, day after day, a dilute cocktail of pesticides, antibiotics, pain killers, tranquilizers and chemotherapy agents?“ http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et1098/et1098s5.html
28. E. Coli Resistance in Surface WatersData from J. Cicmanic, US EPA http://www.enviroadvisory.com/2006presentations/ChrisMetcalfe_files/frame.htm
34. MORE TO COME HYDRUS Modeling Constructed wetlands Vegetated filter strips Water table management Composting Aerobic vs. anaerobic conditions More...
35. Peeking at the Future http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/AssessingRisk/PPCP/upload/01_Daughton.pdf
36. Control of PPCP Pollution Pharmaceuticals are essential for humans, agriculture, and aquaculture Pollution can be minimized by Proper disposal programs for human drugs Effective sewage treatment programs Efficient manure management strategies Proper application of manure and biosolids
37. “Although it is unlikely that a serious problem exists now, it would be prudent to apply the precautionary principle and try to reduce the levels of these compounds in drinking water before any harm is proved.” Jones et al. (2005)
