Research Advances in Identifying Sulfate Contamination Sources of Water Environment by Using Stable Isotopes

As the main anion of groundwater, the content of sulfate affects the drinking water safety and ecological security directly. In recent years, with the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization development, the problem of sulfate pollution in water environments is becoming more and more serious. It is critical to effectively identify the sulfate sources of water environment to ensure human health and the benign evolution of water environment. Due to its “fingerprints” feature, the sulfur and oxygen isotopes of SO42− have been widely used to identify sources of sulfate contamination in water environment. However, research advances in tracing sulfate contamination sources of water environment by using stable isotopes are rarely reported. This paper reviewed the research advances of sulfate isotope technology domestically and abroad, which was used to trace the sources of sulfate pollution in water environment, compared different pre-treatment methods for analyzing the δ34S and δ18O of sulfate, and compiled the ranges of typical values of δ34S and δ18O from different potential sources of sulfate contamination. In this review, the limitation of the technique in traceability of sulfate pollution was also discussed, and the future traceability techniques of sulfate pollution were prospected.

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Biosensing Near the Exceptional Point Based on Resonant Optical Tunneling Effect

Micromachines ◽

10.3390/mi12040426 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 426

Author(s):

Yang Liu ◽

Pengyun Yan ◽

Feng Liu ◽

Aoqun Jian ◽

Shengbo Sang

Keyword(s):

Exceptional Point ◽

Tunneling Effect ◽

Coupled Mode Theory ◽

Environment Protection ◽

Label Free ◽

Liquid Sample ◽

Water Safety ◽

Coupled Mode ◽

Drinking Water Safety ◽

Optical Tunneling

Inspired by exceptional point (EP) sensing in non-Hermitian systems, in this work, a label-free biosensor for detecting low-concentration analytes is proposed, via a special multilayer structure: a resonant optical tunneling resonator. Due to the square root topology near the exceptional point, a recognized target analyte perturbs the system deviated from the exceptional point, leading to resolvable modes splitting in the transmission spectrum. The performance of the designed sensor is analyzed by the coupled-mode theory and transfer matrix method, separately. Here, the simulation results demonstrate that the obtained sensitivity is 17,120 nm/imaginary part unit of refractive index (IP) and the theoretical detection limit is 4.2 × 10−8 IP (regarding carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), the minimum detection value is 1.78 ng). Instead of the typical diffusion manner, the liquid sample is loaded by convection, which can considerably improve the efficiency of sample capture and shorten the response time of the sensor. The sketched sensor may find potential application in the fields of biomedical detection, environment protection, and drinking water safety.

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Study on Mechanism Design of Rural Drinking Water Safety Engineering Project Financing Guarantee

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.361-363.674 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 361-363 ◽

pp. 674-681

Author(s):

Wei Li

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Mechanism Design ◽

Safety Engineering ◽

Project Financing ◽

Water Safety ◽

Public Fund ◽

Engineering Project ◽

Drinking Water Safety ◽

Project Construction ◽

Set Up

As more and more non-public fund entering rural drinking water safety engineering project market; it becomes very necessary to built rural drinking water safety engineering project guarantee mechanism. This paper proposes three steps of mechanism design. Firstly, history data is used to fit multivariate linear equation set up describing relationship between bank loss and key risk factors. Secondly, guarantee fee is calculated through model regression, which is threefold of possible bank loss. Thirdly, guarantee fee is adjusted according to variety of key risk factor in the process of project construction and operating.

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Implementation of Alberta's drinking water safety plans

Water Quality Research Journal ◽

10.2166/wqrjc.2013.063 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 5-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

D. C. Reid ◽

K. Abramowski ◽

A. Beier ◽

A. Janzen ◽

D. Lok ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Effective Action ◽

Main Element ◽

Quality And Safety ◽

Biological Parameters ◽

Water Safety ◽

Drinking Water Safety ◽

Regulatory Approach ◽

Water Safety Plans ◽

Safety Of Drinking Water

Traditionally, the regulatory approach to maintaining the quality and safety of drinking water has largely been a prescriptive one based on the ability of any given supply to meet standards set for a number of different chemical and biological parameters. There are a number of issues around the assumptions and the limitations of a sampling and analysis regime. The basis for such regimes is essentially reactive rather than proactive and, consequently, the cause of the concern may already have impacted consumers before any effective action can be taken. Environment and Sustainable Resource Development has developed a template for recording drinking water safety plans together with guidance notes to help complete them. The template has been developed in MS-Excel and has been designed in a straightforward step-wise manner with guidance on the completion of each sheet. It includes four main risk tables covering each main element of water supply which are pre-populated with commonly found ‘generic’ risks and these are carefully assessed before considering what action is required to deal with significant risks. Following completion of the risk tables, key risks are identified and the interventions required to bring them into control.

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A fatal waterborne disease epidemic in Walkerton, Ontario: comparison with other waterborne outbreaks in the developed world

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2003.0146 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 7-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 199

Author(s):

S.E. Hrudey ◽

P. Payment ◽

P.M. Huck ◽

R.W. Gillham ◽

E.J. Hrudey

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Water Security ◽

Reference Source ◽

Water Safety ◽

Drinking Water Safety ◽

Public Inquiry ◽

Contaminated Drinking Water ◽

The Government ◽

Safety Of Drinking Water ◽

Developed World

An estimated 2,300 people became seriously ill and seven died from exposure to microbially contaminated drinking water in the town of Walkerton, Ontario, Canada in May 2000. The severity of this drinking water disaster resulted in the Government of Ontario calling a public inquiry by Mr. Justice Dennis O’Connor to address the cause of the outbreak, the role (if any) of government policies in contributing to this outbreak and, ultimately, the implications of this experience on the safety of drinking water across the Province of Ontario. The circumstances surrounding the Walkerton tragedy are an important reference source for those concerned with providing safe drinking water. Although some circumstances are obviously specific to this epidemic, others are uncomfortably reminiscent of waterborne outbreaks that have occurred elsewhere. These recurring themes suggested the need for attention to broad issues of drinking water security and they present the challenge for how drinking water safety can be managed to prevent such tragedies in the future.

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Rapid drinking water safety estimation in cities: Piloting a globally scalable method in Cochabamba, Bolivia

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.119 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 654 ◽

pp. 1132-1145 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Lucas Rocha-Melogno ◽

Rebecca Yoo ◽

Osvaldo Broesicke ◽

Achilles Kallergis ◽

José Garcia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Water Safety ◽

Drinking Water Safety ◽

Safety Estimation

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Preparing for Success – Drinking Water Safety Plans and Lessons Learned from Alberta: Policy Considerations Contextualized for Small Systems

Global Issues in Water Policy - Water Policy and Governance in Canada ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-42806-2_17 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 321-335 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Megan Kot ◽

Heather Castleden ◽

Graham A. Gagnon

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Water Safety ◽

Small Systems ◽

Drinking Water Safety ◽

Water Safety Plans

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One-step removal of lead from water using an electricity-free and sustainable membrane filtration

HKIE Transactions ◽

10.33430/v27n4thie-2020-0013 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 166-172

Author(s):

Junwei Zhang ◽

Yan Tung Lo ◽

Hao Guo ◽

Chuyang Tang

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Removal Efficiency ◽

Membrane Filtration ◽

High Water ◽

Water Safety ◽

Drinking Water Contamination ◽

Emergency Situations ◽

Drinking Water Safety ◽

Effective Removal ◽

Volumetric Loading

Lead (Pb) is a typical contaminant in water with adverse effects on human health. Hong Kong’s incident of drinking water contamination by Pb in 2015 caused severe public concerns regarding drinking water safety. Conventional treatment methods for Pb removal generally require electricity, chemical dosage, and considerable time and space, which significantly restrict their use for rapid water purification under emergency situations. In this study, a polyvinyl alcohol/polyacrylic acid (PVA/PAA) composite nanofibrous membrane was developed for the rapid and effective removal of Pb from water. The PVA/PAA membrane had a high water permeability of 550 L/m2/h/kPa - 710 L/m2/h/kPa, which allowed the filtration to be driven by gravity (e.g. with a water height of 10.0 cm). The membrane showed consistently high removal efficiency of Pb (> 95%) with a volumetric loading up to 3000 L/m2. This high removal efficiency was attributed to the combined effects of complexing and electrostatic attraction between Pb and PAA. An esculent citric acid was used to regenerate the exhausted PVA/PAA membrane. The regenerated membrane maintained its removal efficiency of Pb over a five-cycle filtration. These results imply that the PVA/PAA composite membrane can be repeatedly used in electricity-free filtration devices for rapid elimination of Pb under emergency situations.

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Off-flavor as the consumer's measure of drinking water safety

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1995.0386 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 31 (11) ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Michael J. McGuire

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Drinking Water ◽

Water Utilities ◽

Regulatory Environment ◽

Safe Drinking Water ◽

Water Safety ◽

Safe Water ◽

Drinking Water Safety ◽

Off Flavors ◽

Health Related

If consumers detect an off-flavor in their drinking water, they are likely to believe that it probably is not safe. Water utilities will be defeating their best efforts to provide safe drinking water if they only meet health-related regulations and do not provide water that is free of off-flavor problems. The purpose of this paper is to explore the current U.S. regulatory environment and discuss how these regulations can adversely impact the control of off-flavors in drinking water. Utilities should adopt a water quality goal that allows them to not only meet the minimums of the regulations, but also meet the customer's highest standards - water that is free of off-flavors.

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