Studying the impacts of non-routine extended schools' closure on heavy metal release into tap water
Studying the impacts of non-routine extended schools' closure on heavy metal release into tap water
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DOI：
10.1039/d2ew00149g
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发表时间：
2022-03-25
影响因子：
5
通讯作者：
Bhattacharjee, Linkon
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ghoochani, Shima;Salehi, Maryam;Bhattacharjee, Linkon
史无前例的 COVID-19 大流行导致学校大范围停课，导致学校管道内长期积水，持续时间比常规学校假期和暑假更长。几十年来，许多美国学校都受到饮用水中铅 (Pb) 问题的困扰，学校关闭造成的长期水停滞引起了人们对学校水安全的严重担忧。因此，开展这项研究的目的是评估学校饮用水管道对 COVID-19 大流行造成的中断的恢复能力。为此，我们调查了田纳西州一个学区内 25 所学校存在和不存在已知铅问题的固定装置中长期积水对重金属释放到水样中的影响。结果显示，由于长期的水停滞，中位铅浓度显着增加。此外，有问题和无问题的固定装置向自来水中释放的铁、锌和铜含量均升高。假设长期饮用停滞的水，对儿童血铅水平（BLL）的估计表明，BLL 升高（>5 μg dL(-1)）的风险增加。为了更好地确定学校内铅释放的潜在来源，我们结合了管道调查和连续的水采样。含铅固定装置、连接管道和内部管道被发现是导致铅释放到水中的可能来源。实施修复行动后，目标固定装置中自来水中的铅释放量降至 3.4 μg L-1 以下。
The extensive school closures due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic resulted in prolonged water stagnation within schools' plumbing for longer durations than routine schools' holidays and summer breaks. With many of the U.S. schools suffering from problems of lead (Pb) in potable water for decades, the extended water stagnation caused by schools' closure has raised significant concerns regarding the schools' water safety. Thus, this research was conducted to evaluate the resiliency of schools' potable water plumbing toward the interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, the impact of extended water stagnation on heavy metal release into water samples collected from fixtures with and without known lead problems in 25 schools within a school district in Tennessee was investigated. The results revealed a significant increase in the median Pb concentration due to the extended water stagnation. Furthermore, elevated levels of Fe, Zn, and Cu were released from both problematic and nonproblematic fixtures into tap water. Estimation of children's blood lead level (BLL), assuming the consumption of prolonged stagnated water, revealed an increased risk of elevated BLLs (>5 mu g dL(-1)). To better identify the potential sources of lead release within schools, a combination of plumbing investigation and sequential water sampling was conducted. The lead-containing fixtures, connecting plumbing, and interior plumbing were found as the possible sources contributing to the lead release into water. Implementation of remediation actions reduced the lead release into tap water to less than 3.4 mu g L-1 in the target fixtures.