Safe reuse water: Assessment of the removal of chemical contaminants from reuse water using a fish biomonitoring system

有明确的基于科学数据的迹象表明，我们正在进入全球变暖时期。从历史上看，即使是平均环境温度的小幅上升也会导致淡水的大量损失。在水资源稀缺的社区(如南艾伯塔省、加利福尼亚州等)，可饮用再生水可能是必要的。因此，迫切需要确定再生水的消费和/或暴露造成的潜在危害和相关的公共健康风险，并为废水和再生水中存在的污染物制定适当的补救措施。在水生环境中，激素等污染物已被证明会导致鱼类繁殖行为的生理变化和生理功能的下调。也有报告称，从污水处理厂附近水域捕获的雄鱼具有雌性特征。同样令人不安的是，据报道，某些癌症(乳腺癌、前列腺癌、睾丸癌)的发病率有所上升，据推测，特定肿瘤的高患病率可能是由于环境中的雌激素化合物造成的。拟议研究的目的是使用最新开发的最先进的鱼类模型系统来评估特定修复方案之前和之后再生水中化学污染物的公共健康风险。建议研究的具体目标是：(1)。回用水中主要化学污染物的时间分析；利用新开发的鱼类分析方法评估未经处理和经过处理的再利用水急性和亚慢性暴露后的鱼的生理状态；以及(3)利用高剂量紫外线辐射和过氧化氢(UV/H_2O_2)和/或纳米材料基质对化学污染物灭活/去除后的再利用水的安全性进行评估，并开发化学污染物灭活/去除的剂量反应模型。建议的鱼类生物监测分析和补救方法将有助于评估水务行业再用水的潜在公共健康风险。

There are clear scientific data based indications that we are entering a global warming period. Historically, even small increases in average ambient temperatures have been associated with significant loss of fresh water. Potable use of reclaimed water may be necessary in communities where water is a scarce resource (e.g. Southern Alberta, California etc.). Thus, there is an urgent need to determine the potential hazards and associated public health risk due to consumption and/or exposure to reuse water and the development of appropriate remediation measures for contaminants present in wastewater and reuse water. Within the aquatic environment, the contaminants, such as hormones, have been shown to cause physiological alterations in reproductive behavior of fish and down-regulation of physiological functions. There are also reports of female characteristics in male fish taken from waters near sewage treatment plants. Equally troubling is reported rise in the incidence of certain cancers (breast, prostate, testicular) and it has been speculated that higher prevalence of specific neoplasias may be due to estrogenic compounds in the environment. The objective of the proposed research is to use newly developed state-of-the art fish model system to evaluate the public health risk of chemical contaminants in reuse water before and after specific remediation protocols. The specific aims of the proposed research are: (1). Temporal analysis of major chemical contaminants present in the reuse water; (2). Use of newly developed fish assays for the assessment of physiological status of fish following acute and subchronic exposure to non-treated and treated reuse water; and (3) Assessment of the safety of reuse water following inactivation/removal of chemical pollutants using high dose ultraviolet radiation and hydrogen peroxide (UV/H2O2) and/or nanomaterial matrix, and development of dose response models for inactivation/removal of chemical pollutants. The proposed fish biomonitoring assays and remediation methods will be useful for the assessment of potential public health risk of reuse water by the water industry.