scholarly journals Outbreak of acute gastroenteritis due to a washwater-contaminated water supply, Switzerland, 2008

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 569-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Breitenmoser ◽  
R. Fretz ◽  
J. Schmid ◽  
A. Besl ◽  
R. Etter
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Gastrointestinal Illness ◽  
Contaminated Water ◽  
Drinking Water Contamination ◽  
Epidemic Curve ◽  
Contaminated Drinking Water

An operating error in a sewage treatment plant led to severe drinking water contamination in a well-defined district of a suburban municipality of Zurich, Switzerland. Despite the alert issued to the local population on the same day advising people not to consume the contaminated water, cases of acute gastroenteric diseases were subsequently observed. Considerable faecal contamination was detected the day after the incident in water samples taken up to 500 m from the sewage plant. In a retrospective epidemiological study involving 240 persons living in the affected area, 126 cases of acute gastrointestinal illness were documented. The epidemic curve revealed a peak incidence two days after the event. Stool samples from 11 of 20 patients were positive for noroviruses or Campylobacter jejuni. Although these microorganisms were not detected in the contaminated water, the subsequently conducted case–control study among the surveyed population showed that consumption of contaminated drinking water was associated with gastrointestinal illness (odds ratio 29.1; 95% confidence interval: 9.8–86.4; p = 0.001). The study also revealed the very probable time period of infection. We present the dimension and chronology of this outbreak and discuss the reasons for its localised and temporary spread.

scholarly journals SLUDGE EFFECT ON GROUNDWATER QUALITY

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
A. Gontaszewska ◽  
A. Kraiński
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Unsaturated Zone ◽  
Permeability Coefficient ◽  
Small Area ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Effective Protection

The influence of sludge on the groundwater’s quality has been shown on the bases of the agricultural exploitation of the sludge from a sewage-treatment plant. Little thickness of unsaturated zone (8.8 m) is not effective protection against the infiltration of the pollution from the surface. Unsaturated zone consist of sand of permeability coefficient k=0,68 m/h. The time of the vertical infiltration into the aquifer has been estimated at t=14,4 days. The investigations carried out during fertilization with the sludge have revealed an undoubted increase in the concentration of some ions as well as the increase in pH of the groundwater. The increase in the amount of some ions (e.g. N-NO3, SO4, Zn) as well as detergents indicates the possibility (as function of time) of reaching higher values than the ones permissible for drinking water. The phenomenon of the increase in the concentration of the particular ions will be accelerated after depletion of sorption of the soil in the unsaturated zone. The time can be estimated for not more than several years, taking into account a small area of the fertilized fields and high contents of “pollution” in the sludge (the total of the heavy metals reaches up to 1,5 g/kg)

On the Issue of Monitoring Odor-Generating Volatile Pollutants during Sewage Treatment Plant Operation

2020 ◽  
pp. 52-55
Author(s):  
EV Zaritskaya ◽  
PA Ganichev ◽  
AYu Mikheeva ◽  
OL Markova ◽  
GB Yeremin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plants ◽  
Study Results

Summary. Introduction: The problem of strong offensive odor produced by operation of sewage treatment plants is known to be quite pressing and common. It is now related to the fact that urban development made these plants, once built on the outskirts, appear within city boundaries, near summerhouses and cottage villages. Malodor is perceived by local population as a sign of poor ambient air quality that evokes negative emotions and unfavorable reflex responses and makes most people feel unwell. Materials and methods: We analyzed sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants for the whole range of chemicals that can migrate into ambient air and identified priority odor-generating pollutants. Sewage sludge testing was carried out in simulated conditions using advanced high-precision analytical techniques such as mass-spectrometry, spectrophotometry, fluorimetry, gas chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography. Conclusions: Based on study results, we developed a list of chemicals subject to laboratory monitoring and substantiated the expediency of their detection in the presence of public complaints of offensive odors coming from sewage treatment plants.

Occurrence and Removal of PPCPs and EDCs in the Detroit River Watershed

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahram Tabe ◽  
Paul Yang ◽  
Xiaoming Zhao ◽  
Chunyan Hao ◽  
Rajesh Seth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Compounds ◽  
Detroit River ◽  
River Watershed ◽  
Treated Drinking Water ◽  
Drinking Water Samples

The occurrence of 51 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the Detroit River Watershed (DRW) was investigated. Also, the efficiency of local water treatment plants (WTPs) in removing these pollutants was evaluated. Samples were collected from various locations in the DRW, including the discharge of a sewage treatment plant (STP), downstream of the STP on the Detroit River, the intakes of the WTPs, and treated drinking water. Of the 51 target substances analyzed, 12 were not detected in any of the samples, while 14 were detected consistently in all samples from the STP effluent. The concentration of target chemicals was two to four orders of magnitude higher in the STP effluents than at the intakes of the WTPs. In total, 10 substances were detected in at least 10% of the drinking water samples. Two compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctyl solfonate (PFOS), were found in 90+% of the drinking water samples.

scholarly journals Predicting fate of the contraceptive pill in wastewater treatment and discharge

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 279-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mastrup ◽  
A.I. Schäfer ◽  
S.J. Khan
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Food Chain ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Endocrine Disrupters ◽  
Average Dose ◽  
Contraceptive Pill ◽  
Important Message

The risk of endocrine disrupters to humans and wildlife is to date poorly understood, although evidence of effects is now widespread. In understanding the risk, an important step is the determination of the partitioning, as well as chemical and biochemical transformation, of compounds in the environment, the water cycle and the food chain. This is a complex task and this paper is a first step towards estimating some of these factors from a largely theoretical approach. A chemical fate model is used to predict the fate of the contraceptive drug 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). The example of the contraceptive pill is chosen to follow the journey of the drug from human ingestion and excretion to treatment in a sewage treatment plant (STP) using fugacity-based fate models, followed by discharge into a receiving river and eventually into the estuary/sea. The model predicts how EE2 will partition into the different compartments during each stage of this journey and thereby infiltrate into the food chain. The results suggest that a person would have to ingest more than 30,000 portions of fish to consume an equivalent to a single average dose of the contraceptive pill. While this scenario is highly unlikely, the biochemical consequence of the contraceptive pill is greatly significant. Furthermore, there are many identified similarly estrogenic compounds in the environment while this study only considers one. Cumulative effects of such compounds as well as degradation into other potent compounds may be anticipated. An important message in this paper is the interrelation of wastewater effluent discharge and eventual human exposure of marginally degradable and lipophilic chemicals. While at present the main concerns regarding endocrine disrupters appear to be the fear of their occurrence in drinking water sources, it is clear that the domains of wastewater treatment and discharge, water supply and contamination of food should not be treated as separate issues. The model suggests that exposure from food (contaminated by effluent) may be much more significant than from drinking water.

scholarly journals Production Indicators in Cowpea as a Function of the Water–Fertiliser Nexus

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 691
Author(s):  
Erialdo O. Feitosa ◽  
Fernando B. Lopes ◽  
Eunice M. Andrade ◽  
Ana C. M. Magalhães ◽  
Cley A. S. Freitas
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Organic Fertiliser ◽  
Mineral Fertiliser ◽  
Production Models ◽  
Domestic Effluent

The bean is an important crop in feeding the global population. In the northeast of Brazil, it is of particular importance, since it is a staple food, which also generates employment and income. The low productivity of the northeast in recent years due to the water crisis combined with the cost of energy has compromised technical and economic viability. This study aimed to evaluate production parameters of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) under different alternative production systems in the northeast of Brazil. The study was carried out in the experimental area of the sewage treatment plant (STP) in the district of Tianguá, Ceará. The experiment comprised six production systems (treatments) divided into split plots distributed in a completely randomised design with fifteen replications. The systems irrigated with wastewater and amended with different of fertilisers were no fertiliser (S2A0), mineral fertiliser (S2A1) and organic fertiliser (S2A2), as well as systems irrigated with drinking (S1A0, S1A1 and S1A2). It was found that under the systems irrigated with wastewater, the average productivity was 1468.8 kg ha−1, whereas under the systems irrigated with drinking water, it was 984.1 kg ha−1. The production systems that used wastewater (S2A0, S2A1 and S2A2) resulted in greater productivity compared to the production models irrigated with drinking water with organic fertiliser (S1A2) and with no fertiliser (S1A0). All the production models irrigated with wastewater yielded similar results to the conventional system with mineral fertiliser, showing that treated wastewater contains sufficient nutrients to potentially replace mineral fertilisers in cowpea production in the northeast of Brazil. The use of treated domestic effluent increases the productivity of irrigated crops.

Analysis and balance of phosphorous removal from wastewater at urban wastewater treatment plant

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-151
Author(s):  
Peter Lukac ◽  
Lubos Jurik
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Phosphorus Recovery ◽  
Anaerobic Sludge ◽  
Biological Phosphorus Removal ◽  
The Mean

Abstract:Phosphorus is a major substance that is needed especially for agricultural production or for the industry. At the same time it is an important component of wastewater. At present, the waste management priority is recycling and this requirement is also transferred to wastewater treatment plants. Substances in wastewater can be recovered and utilized. In Europe (in Germany and Austria already legally binding), access to phosphorus-containing sewage treatment is changing. This paper dealt with the issue of phosphorus on the sewage treatment plant in Nitra. There are several industrial areas in Nitra where record major producers in phosphorus production in sewage. The new wastewater treatment plant is built as a mechanicalbiological wastewater treatment plant with simultaneous nitrification and denitrification, sludge regeneration, an anaerobic zone for biological phosphorus removal at the beginning of the process and chemical phosphorus precipitation. The sludge management is anaerobic sludge stabilization with heating and mechanical dewatering of stabilized sludge and gas management. The aim of the work was to document the phosphorus balance in all parts of the wastewater treatment plant - from the inflow of raw water to the outflow of purified water and the production of excess sludge. Balancing quantities in the wastewater treatment plant treatment processes provide information where efficient phosphorus recovery could be possible. The mean daily value of P tot is approximately 122.3 kg/day of these two sources. The mean daily value of P tot is approximately 122.3 kg/day of these two sources. There are also two outflows - drainage of cleaned water to the recipient - the river Nitra - 9.9 kg Ptot/day and Ptot content in sewage sludge - about 120.3 kg Ptot/day - total 130.2 kg Ptot/day.

Changes of microbial indices of water quality in the Vistula and Brda rivers as a result of sewage treatment plant operation

2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maciej Walczak
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Sewage Treatment Plants ◽  
Plant Operation ◽  
Treated Sewage ◽  
Microbiological Parameters ◽  
Microbial Indices

Changes of microbial indices of water quality in the Vistula and Brda rivers as a result of sewage treatment plant operationThis paper reports the results of studies of microbiological changes in the water quality of the Vistula and Brda rivers after the opening of sewage treatment plants in Bydgoszcz. The study involved determining the microbiological parameters of water quality. Based on the results obtained, it was found that the quality of the water in both rivers had improved decidedly after the opening of the plants, although an increased number of individual groups of microorganisms was found at the treated sewage outlet from one of the plants.

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