Minimizing Drinking Water Contaminants - Natural, Anthropogenic & By-products of Treatment

最大限度地减少饮用水污染物——自然的、人为的

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-03729
• 负责人: Andrews, Susan
• 金额: $ 1.46万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=677216
• 关键词: Minimizing; Drinking; Water; Contaminants; Natural

The ULTIMATE GOAL of much of my research is to facilitate the provision of safe drinking water to all, particularly in regards to minimizing chemical contaminants that are of potential human health concern. Even at trace levels, several contaminants in drinking water have known or suspected human health effects. Nitrosamines, for example, can exert carcinogenic effects at ng/L (parts-per-trillion) concentrations and can be present either in the raw water or are formed as by-products of disinfection. Certain pharmaceuticals can also find their way into our drinking water treatment plant intakes, usually as a result of upstream wastewater discharges (especially in heavily urbanized areas). They are not readily removed by conventional treatment processes, and while their direct effects are thought to be minimal some of them can be transformed during treatment into the nitrosamines mentioned above. In addition, some trace contaminants such as the compound known as `mutagen X', although discovered as a chlorination by-product more than 20 years ago, is currently being re-examined for its potential health impacts and treatability.*******The proposed research program's MAIN OBJECTIVE is to discover and report on factors which improve the removal of trace contaminants from water and/or minimize by-products formed from the disinfection or oxidative treatment of water when using conventional and/or innovative treatment processes. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES include considerations of treatment process efficiencies such that, for example, protocols for solar treatment may be developed for use in remote locations in North America or in developing nations.*******The SCIENTIFIC APPROACH of the research is to characterize and quantify contaminant destruction and by-product formation resulting primarily from UV-based and solar-based irradiation and advanced oxidation, to compare with the results from chlorination and chloramination. Some of this work employs novel, solar-sensitive photocatalytic materials that have been developed during recent collaborative projects. Some testing also employs newly available toxicological tests, also made possible through recent collaborations.*******This work is UNIQUE AND SIGNIFICANT in that it involves: (i) the examination of emerging contaminants of potential human health concern, (ii) the investigation of conventional and innovative treatment processes (e.g. advanced oxidation, photocatalysis) as a means to remove them (iii) significant direct participation of end users, allowing the information obtained to be more directly applied by Canadian municipalities, consultants, regulatory personnel and researchers than might otherwise be possible. With substantial reductions being contemplated for regulated levels of many by-products, results of this research will also be essential in regulatory negotiation and compliance.***

我的大部分研究的最终目标是促进向所有人提供安全的饮用水，特别是在尽量减少对人类健康有潜在影响的化学污染物方面。 即使在痕量水平，饮用水中的几种污染物也会对人类健康产生已知或怀疑的影响。 例如，亚硝胺在ng/L（万亿分之一）浓度下可产生致癌作用，可存在于原水中或作为消毒副产品形成。 某些药物也可能进入我们的饮用水处理厂的取水口，通常是由于上游废水排放（特别是在高度城市化的地区）。 它们不容易通过常规处理过程去除，虽然它们的直接影响被认为是最小的，但其中一些可以在处理过程中转化为上述亚硝胺。 此外，一些微量污染物，如称为“诱变剂X”的化合物，虽然是20多年前作为氯化副产品发现的，但目前正在重新审查其潜在的健康影响和可处理性。拟议的研究计划的主要目的是发现和报告的因素，提高从水中去除微量污染物和/或减少副产品形成的消毒或氧化处理水时，使用传统和/或创新的处理工艺。次要考虑因素包括处理过程效率的考虑，例如，太阳能处理的协议可能会被开发用于北美或发展中国家的偏远地区。该研究的科学方法是表征和量化主要由紫外线和太阳能照射和高级氧化引起的污染物破坏和副产物形成，以与氯化和氯胺化的结果进行比较。其中一些工作采用了在最近的合作项目中开发的新型太阳能敏感光催化材料。 一些测试还采用了新的毒理学测试，这也是通过最近的合作得以实现的。这项工作是独特和重要的，因为它涉及：（i）对可能危害人类健康的新污染物进行检查，（ii）对传统和创新的处理工艺进行研究（iii）终端用户的大量直接参与，使加拿大市政当局、顾问、管理人员和研究人员，否则可能会。 随着许多副产品的监管水平的大幅降低，这项研究的结果也将在监管谈判和合规方面发挥重要作用。