Stable isotopes as tracers for emerging organic contaminants in natural and engineered systems

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Emerging contaminants are chemicals of "emerging concern" that are not regulated despite rising concern about their possible negative effects on ecosystems and human health. They include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides, and can therefore enter waterways as a result of human activities. The objectives of the proposed research program are to (1) understand the fate of emerging contaminants in natural environments such as rivers and lakes, (2) develop novel cost-effective water treatment technologies inspired from nature, such as constructed wetlands, and (3) develop analysis techniques based on stable isotopes that provide clues to better understand what happens to emerging contaminants in surface water environments. We will identify the most appropriate sampling strategies to quantify emerging contaminants at their typically very low concentrations in water. We will also look at the distribution of contaminants in the environment and investigate their bioavailability to aquatic organisms and potential to transfer in the food chain. A part of the research will focus on developing water treatment systems whose designs will be inspired from natural environments (e.g., wetlands). For that, we will combine several treatment cells in series, each dedicated to a specific removal objective such as photolysis by sunlight or contaminant uptake by plants. Not only will we calculate how much of the initial pollution is eliminated, but we will also identify transformation products and assess their toxicity. In addition, we will implement methods to distinguish between those processes that are permanent and destroy the contaminants versus those that may simply sequester the contaminants for later possible re-release. To this end, we will develop novel analytical methods based on stable isotopes to help us understand their environmental fate, select the most suitable source control strategies, and evaluate the performance of nature-inspired water treatment systems. This research will train students in environmental applied sciences, and in particular in the critical importance of accurate analytical chemistry on which to base decisions that impact our water quality. This training will prepare students for careers in a wide variety of sectors, in academia, environmental consulting, government and industry. The results of the proposed research program and the newly trained highly qualified personnel will provide a better characterization of the behavior of emerging contaminants in natural and engineered environments of great relevance to Canada - a nation with a rich water resource that must be protected. In particular, Canada needs to uphold its responsibility to state-of-the-art surveillance and monitoring of the Great Lakes to protect Canadian's precious water resources, and ensure safer drinking water for the 26 million people who rely on this resource.