Date: June 11, 2018
Source: University of Leeds
Summary: Water samples from UK rivers contained significantly higher concentrations of microplastics downstream from wastewater treatment plants, according to one of the first studies to determine potential sources of microplastics pollution.
Water samples from UK rivers contained significantly higher concentrations of microplastics downstream from wastewater treatment plants, according to one of the first studies to determine potential sources of microplastics pollution.
Scientists from the University of Leeds measured microplastics concentrations up and downstream of six wastewater treatment plants and found that all of the plants were linked to an increase in microplastics in the rivers -- on average up to three times higher but in one instance by a factor of 69.
Lead author Dr Paul Kay, from the School of Geography at Leeds, said: "Microplastics are one of the least studied groups of contaminants in river systems. These tiny plastic fragments and flakes may prove to be one of the biggest challenges in repairing the widespread environmental harm plastics have caused. Finding key entry points of microplastics, such as wastewater treatment plants, can provide focus points to combating their distribution.
"However, pervasive microplastics were also found in our upstream water samples. So while strengthening environmental procedures at treatment plants could be a big step in halting their spread, we cannot ignore the other ways microplastics are getting into our rivers."
Microplastics are pieces of plastic with a diameter less than five millimetres. They come from a wide range of materials including tiny plastic beads found in health and beauty products, plastic fibres from clothing and plastic flakes that break down from packaging.
In addition to exposing river ecosystems to the pollutants found in microplastics, a huge quantity continues to flow downstream and is then flushed into the ocean, posing a further threat to marine environments. Recent research has also found microplastics in fish stocks eaten by humans.
The researchers examined 28 river samples from six different field sites across Northern England. The treatment plants included in the study varied in the size of the population they served, the treatment technologies used and the river's characteristics. These variations allowed for a broader understanding of how different factors could affect how much wastewater treatment plants contribute to microplastic pollution.
In addition to treatment plants providing an entry point for microplastics found in both commercial and domestic wastewater, such as clothing and textile microfibers that shed into washing machines, wastewater treatment plants may also contribute secondary microplastics as a result of plastics caught in the treatment process breaking down further.
The study categorised the types of microplastics found, into pellets/beads, fibres and fragments/flakes. Fragment and fibres made up nearly 90% of the microplastics found in the river samples.
"By categorising the types of microplastics we can identify what aspects of our lifestyle are contributing to river pollution," said Dr Kay.
"Not that long ago microbeads in toiletries and cosmetics were the microplastics getting all the public attention. Seeing the amount of plastic microfibres from clothing and textiles polluting our rivers, we need to think seriously about the role of our synthetic fabrics in long-term environmental harm."
Story Source: University of Leeds. "Wastewater treatment plants are key route into UK rivers for microplastics." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 June 2018. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180611133455.htm
Showing posts with label Wastewater Treatment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wastewater Treatment. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Fish Exposed to Treated Wastewater Have Altered Behavior
Date: December 5, 2017
Source: McMaster University
Summary: Researchers have found that fish living downstream from a wastewater treatment plant showed changes to their normal behavior --- ones that made them vulnerable to predator --- when exposed to elevated levels of antidepressant drugs in the water.
New research points to the ongoing problem of prescription medications, personal care products and other drugs that end up in the watershed and the impact they have on the natural environment.
Credit: Image courtesy of McMaster University
A team of researchers from Environment Canada and Climate Change Canada and McMaster University have found that fish living downstream from a wastewater treatment plant showed changes to their normal behaviour -- ones that made them vulnerable to predators -- when exposed to elevated levels of antidepressant drugs in the water.
The findings, published as a series of three papers in the journal Scientific Reports, point to the ongoing problem of prescription medications, personal care products and other drugs that end up in the watershed and the impact they have on the natural environment.
"Fish can be seen as the canaries in the coal mine," says Sigal Balshine, a professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster and one of the authors on the papers. "The fish that make their homes in the receiving waters downstream from wastewater treatment plants absorb these chemicals and therefore can be our water sentinels."
For their research, the team caged gold fish at various sites in Cootes Paradise watershed -- designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern by an international environmental commission -- and at a control site in Jordan Harbour, which is located between Beamsville and St. Catharine's on the shores of Lake Ontario.
Their analysis found several commonly prescribed antidepressants, known as serotonin uptake/reuptake inhibitors, in the blood plasma of the fish that were caged in the Cootes Paradise Marsh, downstream from the Dundas Waste Water Treatment Plant.
The drugs, say researchers, increased the levels of serotonin in the fish, which in turn affected their swimming behaviour. In short, the fish caged closest to the source of the drugs were bolder, less anxious, were more willing to explore, and more active overall than the fish caged at Jordan Harbour.
Because the affected fish were less anxious, their altered swimming patterns could make them more susceptible to predators. They began moving again faster following a simulated predator attack.
"Taken together, our results suggest the fish downstream of waste water treatment plants are accumulating pharmaceuticals and personal care products at levels sufficient to alter neurotransmitter concentrations and to also impair ecologically-relevant behaviours," says Jim Sherry, a research scientist with Environment Canada and lead author of the study.
Researchers also point to other molecular changes in the fish which point to drug induced injury to the liver and compromised lipid metabolism.
With an abundance of rivers, lakes and oceans, researchers suggest that most Canadians don't appreciate the seriousness and need for safe water reuse.
"Over one billion people on our planet lack access to clean drinking water and a number of serious water borne diseases are caused by improper water treatment," says Balshine. "Water treatment and reuse must be a top priority for municipalities, regions and countries and so understanding the impacts of water treatment on ecosystem function is necessary first step to ensure that we have a sufficient water supply, maintain our biodiversity and protect the health of our ecosystems."
The study was funded by the Great Lakes Action Plan (Phase V) and the Build in Canada Innovation Program.
Source: McMaster University. "Fish exposed to treated wastewater have altered behavior." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 December 2017. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171205092134.htm
Source: McMaster University
Summary: Researchers have found that fish living downstream from a wastewater treatment plant showed changes to their normal behavior --- ones that made them vulnerable to predator --- when exposed to elevated levels of antidepressant drugs in the water.
New research points to the ongoing problem of prescription medications, personal care products and other drugs that end up in the watershed and the impact they have on the natural environment.
Credit: Image courtesy of McMaster University
A team of researchers from Environment Canada and Climate Change Canada and McMaster University have found that fish living downstream from a wastewater treatment plant showed changes to their normal behaviour -- ones that made them vulnerable to predators -- when exposed to elevated levels of antidepressant drugs in the water.
The findings, published as a series of three papers in the journal Scientific Reports, point to the ongoing problem of prescription medications, personal care products and other drugs that end up in the watershed and the impact they have on the natural environment.
"Fish can be seen as the canaries in the coal mine," says Sigal Balshine, a professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster and one of the authors on the papers. "The fish that make their homes in the receiving waters downstream from wastewater treatment plants absorb these chemicals and therefore can be our water sentinels."
For their research, the team caged gold fish at various sites in Cootes Paradise watershed -- designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern by an international environmental commission -- and at a control site in Jordan Harbour, which is located between Beamsville and St. Catharine's on the shores of Lake Ontario.
Their analysis found several commonly prescribed antidepressants, known as serotonin uptake/reuptake inhibitors, in the blood plasma of the fish that were caged in the Cootes Paradise Marsh, downstream from the Dundas Waste Water Treatment Plant.
The drugs, say researchers, increased the levels of serotonin in the fish, which in turn affected their swimming behaviour. In short, the fish caged closest to the source of the drugs were bolder, less anxious, were more willing to explore, and more active overall than the fish caged at Jordan Harbour.
Because the affected fish were less anxious, their altered swimming patterns could make them more susceptible to predators. They began moving again faster following a simulated predator attack.
"Taken together, our results suggest the fish downstream of waste water treatment plants are accumulating pharmaceuticals and personal care products at levels sufficient to alter neurotransmitter concentrations and to also impair ecologically-relevant behaviours," says Jim Sherry, a research scientist with Environment Canada and lead author of the study.
Researchers also point to other molecular changes in the fish which point to drug induced injury to the liver and compromised lipid metabolism.
With an abundance of rivers, lakes and oceans, researchers suggest that most Canadians don't appreciate the seriousness and need for safe water reuse.
"Over one billion people on our planet lack access to clean drinking water and a number of serious water borne diseases are caused by improper water treatment," says Balshine. "Water treatment and reuse must be a top priority for municipalities, regions and countries and so understanding the impacts of water treatment on ecosystem function is necessary first step to ensure that we have a sufficient water supply, maintain our biodiversity and protect the health of our ecosystems."
The study was funded by the Great Lakes Action Plan (Phase V) and the Build in Canada Innovation Program.
Source: McMaster University. "Fish exposed to treated wastewater have altered behavior." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 December 2017. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171205092134.htm
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Wastewater Treatment Upgrades Result in Major Reduction of Intersex Fish
Date: January 10, 2017
Source: University of Waterloo
Summary: Upgrades to a wastewater treatment plant along Ontario's Grand River, led to a 70 per cent drop of fish that have both male and female characteristics within one year and a full recovery of the fish population within three years, according to researchers.
PhD candidate Patricija Marjan and Professor Mark Servos collect rainbow darter fish on the Grand River in Ontario.
Credit: University of Waterloo
Upgrades to a wastewater treatment plant along Ontario's Grand River led to a 70 per cent drop in fish that have both male and female characteristics within one year and a full recovery of the fish population within three years, according to researchers at the University of Waterloo.
The 10-year study, published in Environmental Science and Technology found that the microorganisms used to remove ammonia in the wastewater treatment process also reduced the levels of endocrine disrupters in the water, which caused the intersex occurrences in fish to dramatically decline.
"Having long-term data of the fish population, before and after the wastewater treatment upgrades makes this a truly unique study," said Mark Servos, Canada Research Chair in Water Quality Protection in Waterloo's Department of Biology. "The changes to Kitchener's wastewater treatment system have had a much larger positive impact then we had anticipated."
In 2007, Servos started tracking the number of intersex male rainbow darter fish in the Grand River. Intersex fish are a result of exposure to natural and synthetic hormones in the water, which cause male fish to grow eggs in their testes. At one point Servos noted the rate of intersex changes in the Grand River was one of the highest in the world.
In 2012, the Region of Waterloo upgraded the Kitchener Wastewater Treatment Plant and changed the aeration tank to reduce toxic ammonia. Within one year the proportion of intersex males dropped from 100 per cent in some areas to 29 per cent. By the end of three years, the numbers dropped below the upstream levels of less than 10 per cent.
"Rainbow darters are the Grand River's canary in the coal mine," said Servos, also a member of the Water Institute at Waterloo. "They're extremely sensitive to the concentration of estrogens and other hormone disrupters in the water. Still, we didn't expect them to recover so quickly."
Endocrine disruption in water systems is a worldwide phenomenon. Estrogen in birth control pills and other chemicals that mimic natural hormones are known to impact fish health in trace amounts as low as one part per trillion, far below what conventional wastewater treatment can typically remove.
"In Europe, water treatment engineers have been turning to extremely expensive tertiary treatments to meet regulatory standards," said Servos. "Kitchener's example shows what can be done with currently available technology."
The Grand River watershed in southern Ontario, is the largest watershed that drains into Lake Erie. The area has a growing population of nearly one million people.
Story Source:
University of Waterloo. "Wastewater treatment upgrades result in major reduction of intersex fish." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 January 2017. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170110151418.htm.
Journal Reference:
Keegan A Hicks, Meghan LM Fuzzen, Emily K. McCann, Maricor J Arlos, Leslie M. Bragg, Sonya Kleywegt, Gerald R Tetreault, Mark E McMaster, Mark R. Servos. Reduction of intersex in a wild fish population in response to major municipal wastewater treatment plant upgrades. Environmental Science & Technology, 2016; DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b05370
Source: University of Waterloo
Summary: Upgrades to a wastewater treatment plant along Ontario's Grand River, led to a 70 per cent drop of fish that have both male and female characteristics within one year and a full recovery of the fish population within three years, according to researchers.
PhD candidate Patricija Marjan and Professor Mark Servos collect rainbow darter fish on the Grand River in Ontario.
Credit: University of Waterloo
Upgrades to a wastewater treatment plant along Ontario's Grand River led to a 70 per cent drop in fish that have both male and female characteristics within one year and a full recovery of the fish population within three years, according to researchers at the University of Waterloo.
The 10-year study, published in Environmental Science and Technology found that the microorganisms used to remove ammonia in the wastewater treatment process also reduced the levels of endocrine disrupters in the water, which caused the intersex occurrences in fish to dramatically decline.
"Having long-term data of the fish population, before and after the wastewater treatment upgrades makes this a truly unique study," said Mark Servos, Canada Research Chair in Water Quality Protection in Waterloo's Department of Biology. "The changes to Kitchener's wastewater treatment system have had a much larger positive impact then we had anticipated."
In 2007, Servos started tracking the number of intersex male rainbow darter fish in the Grand River. Intersex fish are a result of exposure to natural and synthetic hormones in the water, which cause male fish to grow eggs in their testes. At one point Servos noted the rate of intersex changes in the Grand River was one of the highest in the world.
In 2012, the Region of Waterloo upgraded the Kitchener Wastewater Treatment Plant and changed the aeration tank to reduce toxic ammonia. Within one year the proportion of intersex males dropped from 100 per cent in some areas to 29 per cent. By the end of three years, the numbers dropped below the upstream levels of less than 10 per cent.
"Rainbow darters are the Grand River's canary in the coal mine," said Servos, also a member of the Water Institute at Waterloo. "They're extremely sensitive to the concentration of estrogens and other hormone disrupters in the water. Still, we didn't expect them to recover so quickly."
Endocrine disruption in water systems is a worldwide phenomenon. Estrogen in birth control pills and other chemicals that mimic natural hormones are known to impact fish health in trace amounts as low as one part per trillion, far below what conventional wastewater treatment can typically remove.
"In Europe, water treatment engineers have been turning to extremely expensive tertiary treatments to meet regulatory standards," said Servos. "Kitchener's example shows what can be done with currently available technology."
The Grand River watershed in southern Ontario, is the largest watershed that drains into Lake Erie. The area has a growing population of nearly one million people.
Story Source:
University of Waterloo. "Wastewater treatment upgrades result in major reduction of intersex fish." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 January 2017. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170110151418.htm.
Journal Reference:
Keegan A Hicks, Meghan LM Fuzzen, Emily K. McCann, Maricor J Arlos, Leslie M. Bragg, Sonya Kleywegt, Gerald R Tetreault, Mark E McMaster, Mark R. Servos. Reduction of intersex in a wild fish population in response to major municipal wastewater treatment plant upgrades. Environmental Science & Technology, 2016; DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b05370
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