Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

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.