Sources, behaviour, and environmental and human health risks of high-technology rare earth elements as emerging contaminants

With the growing concerns over emerging contaminants in indirect potable reuse (IPR) applications, we investigate the impact on human health risk of emerging contaminants introduced into groundwater. Some emerging contaminants have potential endocrine-related health effects at a specific exposure range that is much lower than current guidelines. We start by analyzing Bisphenol A (BPA), which is one of the frequently detected emerging contaminants in groundwater. The objective of this study is to understand how the non-trivial toxicity of BPA affects the estimation of human health risks and, consequentially, aquifer resilience. Based on our results, we aim to provide indications on how to improve water resources management in BPA contaminated sites. We use numerical methods to model BPA contamination of a three-dimensional aquifer, and human health risks and aquifer resilience are estimated at a control plane representing an environmentally sensitive target. A Monte Carlo simulation is conducted to compute uncertainty associated with two levels of heterogeneity. In order to evaluate health risks due to BPA, two types of Dose-Response (DR) models are considered: the monotonic DR model for general exposure and the non-monotonic DR model for prenatal/postnatal exposure. The aquifer resilience is defined as the capacity to recover the state where groundwater is considered potable (i.e., negligible health risks due to BPA). When using the non-monotonic DR model, computational results indicate that the aquifer resilience reduces and its uncertainty increases as the aquifer heterogeneity increases. On the other hand, the aquifer resilience considering the monotonic DR model enhances, and its uncertainty increases relatively smaller than the one considering the non-monotonic DR model. In addition, the variability of the aquifer resilience is controlled by the residence time of the BPA plumes at the control plane, which is related to the volumetric flow rate at the front side of the contamination source. Finally, the decision-making strategy for BPA contaminated sites should be established in accordance with the heterogeneous structure of aquifer and land uses that determines which DR model of BPA is more important in estimating the aquifer resilience.

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Potential Environmental and Human Health Risks Caused by Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (ARB), Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) and Emerging Contaminants (ECs) from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfill

Antibiotics ◽

10.3390/antibiotics10040374 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 374

Author(s):

Uttpal Anand ◽

Bhaskar Reddy ◽

Vipin Kumar Singh ◽

Amit Kishore Singh ◽

Kavindra Kumar Kesari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Human Health ◽

Health Risks ◽

Resistance Genes ◽

Emerging Contaminants ◽

Antibiotic Resistance Genes ◽

Resistant Bacteria ◽

Antibiotic Resistant ◽

Human Health Risks ◽

Msw Landfill

The disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) directly at landfills or open dump areas, without segregation and treatment, is a significant concern due to its hazardous contents of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and metal resistance genes (MGEs). The released leachate from landfills greatly effects the soil physicochemical, biological, and groundwater properties associated with agricultural activity and human health. The abundance of ARB, ARGs, and MGEs have been reported worldwide, including MSW landfill sites, animal husbandry, wastewater, groundwater, soil, and aerosol. This review elucidates the occurrence and abundance of ARB, ARGs, and MRGs, which are regarded as emerging contaminants (ECs). Recently, ECs have received global attention because of their prevalence in leachate as a substantial threat to environmental and public health, including an economic burden for developing nations. The present review exclusively discusses the demands to develop a novel eco-friendly management strategy to combat these global issues. This review also gives an intrinsic discussion about the insights of different aspects of environmental and public health concerns caused due to massive leachate generation, the abundance of antibiotics resistance (AR), and the effects of released leachate on the various environmental reservoirs and human health. Furthermore, the current review throws light on the source and fate of different ECs of landfill leachate and their possible impact on the nearby environments (groundwater, surface water, and soil) affecting human health. The present review strongly suggests the demand for future research focuses on the advancement of the removal efficiency of contaminants with the improvement of relevant landfill management to reduce the potential effects of disposable waste. We propose the necessity of the identification and monitoring of potential environmental and human health risks associated with landfill leachate contaminants.

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Emerging Contaminants Effect on Aquatic Ecosystem: Human Health Risks

Agricultural Research & Technology Open Access Journal ◽

10.19080/artoaj.2019.19.556104 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Koigoora Srikanth

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Health Risks ◽

Aquatic Ecosystem ◽

Emerging Contaminants ◽

Human Health Risks

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Mapping of human health risks arising from soil nickel and mercury contamination

Journal of Hazardous Materials ◽

10.1016/j.jhazmat.2012.11.040 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 244-245 ◽

pp. 225-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Mojgan Yeganeh ◽

Majid Afyuni ◽

Amir-Hosein Khoshgoftarmanesh ◽

Loghman Khodakarami ◽

Manouchehr Amini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Health Risks ◽

Mercury Contamination ◽

Human Health Risks

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Groundwater Quality and Potential Human Health Risk Assessment for Drinking and Irrigation Purposes: A Case Study in the Semiarid Region of North China

Water ◽

10.3390/w13060783 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 783

Author(s):

Feifei Chen ◽

Leihua Yao ◽

Gang Mei ◽

Yinsheng Shang ◽

Fansheng Xiong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Groundwater Quality ◽

Human Health ◽

Health Risks ◽

North China ◽

Shanxi Province ◽

Hydrochemical Characteristics ◽

Human Health Risks ◽

Drinking And Irrigation ◽

Hydrochemical Types ◽

Potential Human Health

Groundwater is a valuable water source for drinking and irrigation purposes in semiarid regions. Groundwater pollution may affect human health if it is not pretreated and provided for human use. This study investigated the hydrochemical characteristics driving groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation purposes and potential human health risks in the Xinzhou Basin, Shanxi Province, North China. More specifically, we first investigated hydrochemical characteristics using a descriptive statistical analysis method. We then classified the hydrochemical types and analyzed the evolution mechanisms of groundwater using Piper and Gibbs diagrams. Finally, we appraised the groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation purposes using the entropy water quality index (EWQI). We assessed the associated human health risks for different age and sex groups through drinking intake and dermal contact pathways. Overall, we found that (1) Ca-HCO3 and Ca·Mg-HCO3 were the dominant hydrochemical types and were mainly governed by rock weathering and water–rock interactions. (2) Based on the EWQI classifications, 67.74% of the groundwater samples were classified as medium quality and acceptable for drinking purpose. According to the values of sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and soluble sodium percentage (%Na), 90.32% of the samples were suitable for irrigation, while the remaining samples were unfit for irrigation because of the high salinity in the groundwater. (3) Some contaminants in the groundwater, such as NO3−, NO2− and F−, exceeded the standard limits and may cause potential risks to human health. Our work presented in this paper could establish reasonable management strategies for sustainable groundwater quality protection to protect public health.

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