Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) enter aquatic ecosystems through multiple pathways including human excretion into sewage systems, disposal of surplus drugs, and the therapeutic treatment of livestock. Because PPCPs are designed to have a physiological effect, it is likely that they may also influence aquatic organisms. The objectives of this research were to quantify PPCP abundance in near-shore habitats of Lake Michigan and identify factors related to PPCP abundance. Stratified sampling was conducted seasonally at four southern Lake Michigan sites. All sites sampled had measurable PPCP concentrations, but they varied significantly among time and location. Concentrations of PPCPs did not differ with site or water depth. Multiple regression analyses revealed that temperature, total carbon, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, and ammonium controlled total PPCP concentrations. These data indicate PPCPs are ubiquitous in southern Lake Michigan with continued research needed to assess potential effects on aquatic organisms and humans. / Department of Biology

Objectives To evaluate the association between exposures to the main chemical contaminants released by the industry in freshwater and the rise in cancer cases among the population in China. Methods A systematic review was undertaken of the scientific literature compiled in the MEDLINE (via PubMed©), Google scholar, Web of Knowledge. The descriptors used were "cancer", "water pollution”, “industry” and “chemical", limited to studies that relevant to the research questions. Articles selected were of any type in English, from the inception of the indexing of the primary source until July 28th of 2013. With the quantitative data, Health impact assessment formulas are developed and then applied to subsequent data to make estimate. Results The search generated 306 articles, from which 10 were selected after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The analysis of freshwater contaminants that attributed to industry in this review included aromatic amine, vinyl chloride, benzene, hexavalent Chromium, dioxin, and others of industrial origin. The majority of the studies find a significant link between exposure to drinking water contaminants and the increase in cancer cases, especially in the rural areas. In some of the studied populations a significant dose-response relationship was observed. Discussion After reviewing the included studies and the estimation of health impact assessment, I concluded that the association between cancer risks and industrial contamination in freshwater resources in China does indeed exist. While there are several other factors that interact the cancer risks, such as agriculture related water pollution and rapid growth of population. Taking into account that most of the articles were located in western countries, more Chinese studies are required in order to know the effect of freshwater contamination on cancer risks, in particular among those who lived in rural industry area. Conclusion This study provides the first estimated health impacts based on the relationship between industrial freshwater pollution and cancer risks, supporting decision makers to formulate public health recommendations to ensure a safer and healthier environment in the future. However, further study is critically needed for the prevention of this form of contamination. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-129). Also available on the World Wide Web.

In recent years, the increasing release of trace organic chemicals to the aquatic environment have been problematic to both the ecosystem and the human society. These trace organic chemicals, regarded as emerging contaminants, include different categories of chemicals, which are either deemed to be safe for human consumption or they are naturally occurring compounds. As a newly recognized class of emerging contaminant, artificial sweeteners are proven to be one of the most ubiquitous classes of emerging contaminants in environmental waters. Its transformation to different suite of TPs during water treatment processes generated more toxic influence than the parent compound is problematic. The realization of the widespread of emerging contaminants, together with their ambiguous fate and impact to the environment have led to the development of advanced oxidation processes that can effectively attenuate this wide range of contaminants. In this work, several catalytic advanced oxidation processes were studied. On one hand, it aimed to evaluate their effectiveness on the removal of the artificial sweetener - acesulfame; and on the other hand, to shed lights on the future development of catalytic advanced oxidation processes. In the first part of this thesis, the photo-Fenton treatment was evaluated on its potential to effectively remove acesulfame together with the produced transformation products, and the post-treatment toxicity screening. The photo-Fenton treatment was found to be effective in removing both the parent compound and the transformation products, without leading to an increase in toxicity, which is largely related to the effective removal of the transformation products. In attempt to reduce the reliance on UV irradiation, newly synthesized carbon and nitrogen co-doped TiO2-based photocatalyst was applied to capture the simulated sunlight for the degradation of acesulfame. The heterogenous photocatalytic treatment was found to involve several different oxidative reactive species for both degradation and transformation by using several scavengers to alter the degradation profile. Unexpected transformation product was also formed upon treatment in actual water matrix, suggesting the impact of water constituents to the transformation of emerging contaminants. Toxicity results indicated the inability to achieve detoxification, suggesting that a more effective degradation process was needed. To accelerate the degradation process, and enhance the performance at neutral pH, the use of redox mediators for Fenton/Fenton-like system was evaluated. Developed novel Fenton-like system involving copper(II) as transition metal ion, persulfate as oxidant and mercaptosuccinic acid as redox mediator led to effective removal of different contaminants. Elucidation of the proposed oxidation mechanism suggested the role of each components of the system, and the generation of different reactive species for degradation as indicated by the different acesulfame transformation profile obtained. The implementation of redox mediators to Fenton/Fenton-like system was beneficial and an effective approach. In short, this work presents several kinds of catalytic advanced oxidation process and shed lights on improving the degradation performance with directions for the future development of better and more effective water treatment processes.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-178) Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Eng.). / Written for the Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2009/06/17). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-178) Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Apr. 16, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

This study examined temporal variation of pharmaceutical concentrations in two streams with differing land uses: 1) a suburban stream with combined sewer overflow point sources; and, 2) a rural stream influenced by septic systems and agricultural runoff. Sites were sampled monthly for pharmaceutical concentrations and stream physiochemical parameters. Pharmaceuticals were frequently detected in both the urban and agricultural stream with the highest concentrations measured during winter. Across sites, water column dissolved oxygen concentrations positively correlated with several pharmaceuticals suggesting microbial activity is important in pharmaceutical persistence. Potential for degradation of pharmaceuticals as a carbon or nitrogen source by stream sediment microbial communities was also estimated using pharmaceutical-amended basal salt media incubated under different temperature and ultraviolet (UV) light treatments. Under 4°C incubation, caffeine and acetaminophen were the most recalcitrant compounds whereas cotinine was the most labile. Under UV-B exposure, cotinine and sulfamethoxazole were the most recalcitrant compounds whereas ibuprofen was the most labile. / Temporal variation of pharmaceuticals in an urban and agriculturally influenced stream -- Degradation potential of six pharmaceuticals by sediment microbial communities. / Department of Biology