Risk characterisation of chemicals of emerging concern in real-life water reuse applications
Water reuse is a viable option to address temporal or structural water shortages. However, the ubiquitous presence of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) in natural systems, especially the aquatic environment, represents a significant obstacle to water reuse and the receiving environment. Therefore...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024008134 |
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| author | Jan C. Specker Antonia Praetorius Milo L. de Baat Nora B. Sutton Annemarie P. van Wezel |
| author_facet | Jan C. Specker Antonia Praetorius Milo L. de Baat Nora B. Sutton Annemarie P. van Wezel |
| author_sort | Jan C. Specker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water reuse is a viable option to address temporal or structural water shortages. However, the ubiquitous presence of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) in natural systems, especially the aquatic environment, represents a significant obstacle to water reuse and the receiving environment. Therefore, an extensive literature review was performed to identify current water reuse practices at field scale, reported types and levels of CECs and their associated risks for human and environmental health. Treated wastewater was the primary reused water source, with agricultural reuse being the most frequently reported reuse application (28 %), followed by indirect-potable reuse (16 %). Contrary to potable reuse, it was observed that almost no studies applied additional treatment before water reuse for agricultural purposes. Based on calculated risk quotients, ecological risks were identified for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, chlorpyrifos, triclocarban, and ethinylestradiol, and human health risks for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid. Environmental risks could be assessed for 77 % of detected CECs, while the human health risk assessment is limited to 28 %. For agricultural reuse, it was observed that CEC concentrations in produced crops were at acceptable levels. However, a thorough risk assessment of CECs during water reuse is currently limited due to a focus on a defined class of contaminants in the literature, i.e., pharmaceuticals, and falls short of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Therefore, future water reuse studies should include a broader set of CECs and study additional mitigation options to decrease CEC concentrations before or during water reuse. Moreover, environmental harm caused by CECs during water reuse such as adverse effects on the microbial soil community or leaching to non-target sources has hardly been studied in the field and presents a knowledge gap. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-601ec3725fc244509a904d01391acf5c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj-art-601ec3725fc244509a904d01391acf5c2025-01-24T04:44:07ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202025-01-01195109226Risk characterisation of chemicals of emerging concern in real-life water reuse applicationsJan C. Specker0Antonia Praetorius1Milo L. de Baat2Nora B. Sutton3Annemarie P. van Wezel4Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Corresponding author.Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsInstitute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The NetherlandsInstitute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsWater reuse is a viable option to address temporal or structural water shortages. However, the ubiquitous presence of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) in natural systems, especially the aquatic environment, represents a significant obstacle to water reuse and the receiving environment. Therefore, an extensive literature review was performed to identify current water reuse practices at field scale, reported types and levels of CECs and their associated risks for human and environmental health. Treated wastewater was the primary reused water source, with agricultural reuse being the most frequently reported reuse application (28 %), followed by indirect-potable reuse (16 %). Contrary to potable reuse, it was observed that almost no studies applied additional treatment before water reuse for agricultural purposes. Based on calculated risk quotients, ecological risks were identified for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, chlorpyrifos, triclocarban, and ethinylestradiol, and human health risks for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid. Environmental risks could be assessed for 77 % of detected CECs, while the human health risk assessment is limited to 28 %. For agricultural reuse, it was observed that CEC concentrations in produced crops were at acceptable levels. However, a thorough risk assessment of CECs during water reuse is currently limited due to a focus on a defined class of contaminants in the literature, i.e., pharmaceuticals, and falls short of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Therefore, future water reuse studies should include a broader set of CECs and study additional mitigation options to decrease CEC concentrations before or during water reuse. Moreover, environmental harm caused by CECs during water reuse such as adverse effects on the microbial soil community or leaching to non-target sources has hardly been studied in the field and presents a knowledge gap.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024008134Water recyclingWater scarcityMicropollutantsWastewater reuse |
| spellingShingle | Jan C. Specker Antonia Praetorius Milo L. de Baat Nora B. Sutton Annemarie P. van Wezel Risk characterisation of chemicals of emerging concern in real-life water reuse applications Environment International Water recycling Water scarcity Micropollutants Wastewater reuse |
| title | Risk characterisation of chemicals of emerging concern in real-life water reuse applications |
| title_full | Risk characterisation of chemicals of emerging concern in real-life water reuse applications |
| title_fullStr | Risk characterisation of chemicals of emerging concern in real-life water reuse applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Risk characterisation of chemicals of emerging concern in real-life water reuse applications |
| title_short | Risk characterisation of chemicals of emerging concern in real-life water reuse applications |
| title_sort | risk characterisation of chemicals of emerging concern in real life water reuse applications |
| topic | Water recycling Water scarcity Micropollutants Wastewater reuse |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024008134 |
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