Microbial risk assessment of drinking water to set health-based performance targets to improve water quality and treatment plant operations

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 495-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Shea ◽  
J. Poon ◽  
S. Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
World Health ◽  
Recycled Water ◽  
Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Microbial Risk

Western Water (WW) provides water, recycled water and wastewater services to almost 150,000 people whilst continuously striving to improve processes to provide its customers with safe, cost effective and reliable drinking water, recycled water and treatment services. Under this framework of continuous improvement, WW has reviewed the effectiveness of its drinking water treatment systems using quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) techniques described by the World Health Organization (WHO). The microbial-related water quality targets in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines Paper 6 National Water Quality Management Strategy (2011) National Health and Medical Research Council, National Resource Management Ministerial Council, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra are simply ‘to ensure that drinking water is free of microorganisms that can cause disease’. Whereas, the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling adopted the WHO QMRA approach for setting health-based microbial targets to manage health risk to customers. WW has investigated adopting the AGWR methodology for drinking water risk management, and invested in the development of a convenient and practical QMRA tool for rapid assessment and reporting of the microbial safety of its drinking water systems. This action resulted in the identification of several drinking water system performance deficiencies, and recommendations for system improvements and optimization to improve health risk management to customers.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Chemical Parameters of Urban Drinking Water Quality along with Health Risk Assessment: A Case Study of Ardabil Province, Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5179
Author(s):  
Reza Aghlmand ◽  
Saeed Rasi Nezami ◽  
Ali Abbasi
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Health Risk Assessment ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Hazard Quotient ◽  
Hazard Index ◽  
World Health ◽  
Study Region

In recent years, in addition to water resources’ quantity, their quality has also received much attention. In this study, the quality of the urban water distribution network in northwestern Iran was evaluated using the water quality index (WQI) method. Then, some important trace elements were investigated, and finally, the health risk assessment was evaluated for both carcinogenic elements (Ni, Cd, Cr, Pb, and As) and non-carcinogenic elements (Ca, Mg, Na, K, F, NO3, and Cu) using carcinogenic risk (CR) and hazard quotient (HQ), respectively. In the present study, the WQI was calculated based on both World Health Organization (WHO) and Iranian drinking water standards. Comparing the results of these standards revealed that the WQI based on the Iranian standard was slightly higher. Regarding the calculated WQI for the study region, the status of water quality for drinking consumption is in the good water quality class (25 < WQI < 50). It was observed that Cu and Cd have the highest and lowest concentrations in all sampling points, respectively. Hazard Index (HI) results showed that the non-carcinogenic substances studied had a low risk for both adults and children (<1.0). However, the CR results showed that Ni, Cd, and As were above the desired level for both children and adults. The results of this study can be applied for efficient water management and human health protection programs in the study area.

Scenario-based quantitative microbial risk assessment to evaluate the robustness of a drinking water treatment plant

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed A. Hamouda ◽  
William B. Anderson ◽  
Michele I. Van Dyke ◽  
Ian P. Douglas ◽  
Stéphanie D. McFadyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Water Treatment Plant ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Microbial Risk ◽  
Treatment Processes

While traditional application of quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) models usually stops at analyzing the microbial risk under typical operating conditions, this paper proposes the use of scenario-based risk assessment to predict the impact of potential challenges on the expected risk. This study used a QMRA model developed by Health Canada to compare 14 scenarios created to assess the increase in risk due to potential treatment failures and unexpected variations in water quality and operating parameters of a water treatment plant. Under regular operating conditions, the annual risk of illness was found to be substantially lower than the acceptable limit. Scenario-based QMRA was shown to be useful in demonstrating which hypothetical treatment failures would be the most critical, resulting in an increased risk of illness. The analysis demonstrated that scenarios incorporating considerable failure in treatment processes resulted in risk levels surpassing the acceptable limit. This reiterates the importance of robust treatment processes and the multi-barrier approach voiced in drinking water safety studies. Knowing the probability of failure, and the risk involved, allows designers and operators to make effective plans for response to treatment failures and/or recovery actions involving potential exposures. This ensures the appropriate allocation of financial and human resources.

Evaluating Risk After a Hazardous Waste Treatment Plant Released Persistent Organic Pollutants. Part 1. Background and Policy Issues

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tee L. Guidotti
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Hazardous Waste ◽  
Organic Pollutants ◽  
Persistent Organic Pollutants ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Treatment Plant

On 16 October 1996, a malfunction at the Swan Hills Special Waste Treatment Center (SHSWTC) in Alberta, Canada, released an undetermined quantity of persistent organic pollutants to the atmosphere. An ecologically based, staged health risk assessment was conducted to evaluate the human health risk, the findings of which are presented in Part 2, on Ecotoxicology and Human Health Risk. The incident resulted in the largest fine for an environmental infraction in Alberta history up to that time. Despite the incident, the province of Alberta has continued to subsidize the facility and has kept it in operation, with changes in management. The policy rationale is that if the facility were not available, accumulation and possible diversion of hazardous waste into illegal disposal alternatives would threaten the environment much more than operation of the plant. This case study illustrates an ecological approach to risk assessment and an attempted culturally sensitive approach to risk management. Incidents in which people are exposed to toxic substances do not occur in a social vacuum. Risk management strategies must be adapted to groups with different cultural values and expectations. Community and individual responses to such incidents, and the development of health advisory messages, may depend on presenting information on exposure and risk in terms consistent with cultural patterns among subpopulations in the community.

scholarly journals Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment for Workers Exposed to Bioaerosol in Wastewater Treatment Plants Aimed at the Choice and Setup of Safety Measures

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annalaura Carducci ◽  
Gabriele Donzelli ◽  
Lorenzo Cioni ◽  
Ileana Federigi ◽  
Roberto Lombardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Average Risk ◽  
Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Exposure Limits ◽  
Microbial Risk Assessment ◽  
Microbial Risk ◽  
The Impact

Biological risk assessment in occupational settings currently is based on either qualitative or semiquantitative analysis. In this study, a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) has been applied to estimate the human adenovirus (HAdV) health risk due to bioaerosol exposure in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). A stochastic QMRA model was developed considering HAdV as the index pathogen, using its concentrations in different areas and published dose–response relationship for inhalation. A sensitivity analysis was employed to examine the impact of input parameters on health risk. The QMRA estimated a higher average risk in sewage influent and biological oxidation tanks (15.64% and 12.73% for an exposure of 3 min). Sensitivity analysis indicated HAdV concentration as a predominant factor in the estimated risk. QMRA results were used to calculate the exposure limits considering four different risk levels (one illness case per 100, 1.000, 10.000, and 100.000 workers): for 3 min exposures, we obtained 565, 170, 54, and 6 GC/m3 of HAdV. We also calculated the maximum time of exposure for each level for different areas. Our findings can be useful to better define the effectiveness of control measures, which would thus reduce the virus concentration or the exposure time.

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