CAREER: Environmental forensics: Emerging water quality tools to detect leaking sewers in urban streams

1653726/Blaney该项目的目标是解决通过渗漏的下水道将新出现的令人担忧的污染物(CEC)排放到城市河流的问题。PI将使用CECs，结合溶解有机物(DOM)和水生毒性，作为法医工具来定位泄漏的下水道，并量化污染的程度和影响。该项目包括实地工作、以实验室为基础的实验，以及开发新的工具来跟踪与环境有关的CECs混合物的发生、去向、运输和毒性。这项工作的重要性源于需要测量和补救城市流域基础设施压力的影响。该教育计划旨在通过在巴尔的摩建立公民科学计划和为不同的社区大学生提供培训机会来改善环境工程领域的种族人口结构。这些教育活动直接与研究计划相结合，将提高公众的科学素养，提高公众对环境工程和科学的参与度。该项目的目标是使用新的水质工具来定位泄漏的下水道，并确定对生态系统健康的相应影响。这项研究包括DOM的表征、CEC的测量以及CEC对细菌和水生无脊椎动物的影响的识别。这项工作将在巴尔的摩的格温斯瀑布分水岭进行，并将利用巴尔的摩生态系统研究(BES)长期生态研究(LTER)站点20年的研究成果。PI将进行以下调查：1)使用平行因子分析建模的荧光激发-发射矩阵确定泄漏的下水道的位置；2)使用在线固相萃取液相色谱串联质谱确定泄漏的下水道对水、沉积物和小龙虾中CEC浓度和负荷的贡献；以及3)使用新的荧光激活细胞分类工具和生物监测生物来确定与环境相关的CEC的毒理影响。教育目标是增加非裔美国学生在环境工程领域的代表性。教育目标是：1)在巴尔的摩社区和学校促进公民科学，以提高社区对环境的参与度和素养；以及，2)努力从社区学院招募和支持有才华的未被充分代表的学生转到环境工程和科学项目并取得成功。通过与BES LTER的合作，PI将与生态学家和公共卫生科学家合作，更好地传达与测量的CEC水平相关的毒理学影响。该教育计划通过新的和令人兴奋的机制，将该项目的影响扩展到巴尔的摩的种族多元化社区和地区社区大学。积极培养来自代表性不足群体的本科生担任研究助理，并鼓励他们申请研究生院，建设优秀少数民族学生的渠道。总的来说，这些活动将提高公众对改善我们的废水基础设施的必要性的认识和认识。

1653726/Blaney The goal of this project is to address the loading of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) into urban streams through leaking sewers. The PI will use CECs, in combination with dissolved organic matter (DOM) and aquatic toxicity, as forensic tools to locate leaking sewers and quantify the extent and impact of contamination. The project involves field work, laboratory-based experimentation, and development of new tools to track the occurrence, fate, transport, and toxicity of environmentally relevant mixtures of CECs. The significance of this work stems from the need to both measure and remedy the effects of infrastructure stress in urban watersheds. The educational plan aims to improve racial demographics in environmental engineering through formation of a citizen science program in Baltimore and training opportunities for diverse community college students. These educational activities, which are directly integrated with the research plan, will increase public scientific literacy and engagement with environmental engineering and science. The goals of the project are to use novel water quality tools to locate leaking sewers and determine the corresponding impacts on ecosystem health. The research encompasses characterization of DOM, measurement of CECs, and identification of CEC-driven impacts on bacteria and aquatic invertebrates. This work will be conducted in the Gwynns Falls watershed in Baltimore and will leverage two decades of research at the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site. The PI will investigate the following: 1) Identify the location of leaking sewers using fluorescence excitation-emission matrices modeled with parallel factor analysis; 2) Determine the contribution of leaking sewers to CEC concentrations and loads in water, sediment, and crayfish using online solid-phase extraction liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry; and, 3) Ascertain toxicological impacts of environmentally-relevant CECs using novel fluorescence-activated cell sorting tools and biomonitoring organisms. The educational goal is to increase representation of African-American students in environmental engineering. The educational objectives are to: 1) Promote citizen science in Baltimore neighborhoods and schools to increase community engagement with, and literacy of, the environment; and, 2) Develop efforts to recruit and support talented underrepresented students from community colleges to transfer into, and succeed in, environmental engineering and science programs. Through the partnership with the BES LTER, the PI will engage ecologists and public health scientists to better communicate toxicological impacts associated with measured CEC levels. The educational program extends the project impact to racially diverse communities in Baltimore and regional community colleges through new and exciting mechanisms. Undergraduate students from underrepresented groups will be actively trained as research assistants and encouraged to apply to graduate school, building a pipeline of excellent minority students. Overall, these activities will increase public awareness and appreciation of the need to upgrade our wastewater infrastructure.