Human and ecological health impacts associated with water reuse: engineered systems for removing priority emerging contaminants

Abstract

The United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization classifies as essential and urgent knowledge of the sources, transformations and fate of emerging contaminants in the environment due unequivocal evidence about numerous observed effects to wild populations, as well as possible damages observed in humans. These are thousands of chemicals that are present in the environment and may cause risks to the intended uses of water. The prioritization of these substances is essential to the beginning of the regulatory process, whether for prevention or control of input. Brazil, due to their socioeconomic and environmental amplitude, is a country that has environmental problems similar to developed countries, while that magnifies problems typical of areas with fragile economies such as the serious problems associated with poor of sanitation. This scenario is further aggravated in São Paulo due to the high density of population and the scarcity of water which leads us to search for solutions in the short, medium and long time so that aim to offer protection and especially the quality of our freshwaters. This project aims to evaluate the human and ecotoxicological health impacts associated with water reuse, evaluating the advanced systems used in treatment considering to the removal of priority emerging contaminants and the by-products formation after the process. This project will be complement the currently Research Project and will be developed in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC, USA) under the supervision of Prof. Susan Richardson who has a great experience in this research area. (AU)