Chemical indicators for human exposure and risk assessment in wastewater

Abstract

A concern arising from chemical pollution is that the environment, society, and large segments of the population may be at risk when chemicals enter the water and wastewater network as a result of anthropogenetic activities. This study investigates wastewater quality and its relevance for human exposures to chemicals, to use in risk assessment The research presented here answers the question: What information can sewage treatment plant (STP) wastewater provide on exposure and hazards of chemicals for human health and the environment?

This study provides an overview of chemical micropollutants in the context of wastewater. In addition, a framework is proposed to identify potentially harmful chemicals in the wastewater system based on observed concentrations, hazard assessment, and exposure assessment.

Chemical micropollutants in wastewater are studied to evaluate if they may pose a risk when reusing wastewater for purposes such as drinking water, agricultural production, and industrial production. Chemical micro pollution in wastewater flowing out of STP can result in direct and indirect human exposure. Direct chemical exposure from wastewater can occur during incidents or contact during effluent disposal. Indirect exposure is linked to the inhalation of substances when working or living near a STP; other indirect exposure may occur by the ingestion of food or drinking water irrigated by or produced from water that is impacted by effluent, respectively.

Prioritizing the chemical composition of wastewater resulted in chemicals that could be harmful to humans when exposed to wastewater Chemicals such as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, fungicides, surfactants, and antimicrobial agents are linked to possible adverse health effects from wastewater exposure. Exposure assessment is performed on PFOA, because of the current relevance. PFOA could be a high risk when exposure occurs through swimming in waterbodies connected to effluent or through consuming drinking water or food products. When consuming PFOA, the potential adverse health effect of PFOA from the tolerable daily intake (TDI) is linked to a reduced vaccine immune response.

Because of the potential increase of harmful chemical concentrations in freshwater sources (e.g., drinking water production and agricultural water) due to the increase in reusing wastewater. More strategies to identify areas where further research on increasing chemical concentrations and monitoring is needed to better understand the possible impacts of chemical exposure on human health.