Our research investigated the correlations of five key contaminants in drinking water in the State of Illinois with the incidence rates of three different categories of negative reproductive outcomes: birth defects, adverse pregnancy outcomes and preterm births. The five water contaminants included three agrichemical-based contaminants (atrazine, nitrate and nitrite) and two disinfectant byproducts (total trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids). We obtained nearly 38,000 measurements of the individual concentrations of these five contaminants from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). These data, spanning over a five-year period (1998-2002), were collected from nearly 1,800 community water supplies (CWS) located in all 102 Illinois counties. The county-specific incidence rate data for the same time period for preterm births, seven groups of birth defects and seven groups of adverse pregnancy outcomes were collected from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). The traditional approach of establishing correlation of one explanatory variable at a time indicated that nitrate concentration in drinking water was statistically correlated to the incidence rate of only one category of negative reproductive outcome, i.e., birth defects. However, multiple regression analysis, which took into consideration all water contaminant data simultaneously, established statistical significance of the correlation between nitrate and all three categories of negative reproductive outcomes. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) were also found to be the statistically significant explanatory variables for all three types of negative reproductive outcomes. Nitrite was found to be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and preterm births only; its correlation with birth defect rates could not be established at 80% confidence level. Atrazine was found to be among the significant explanatory variables for all three negative reproductive outcomes. However, its correlations with birth defect model developed using censored data and preterm birth model developed based on observed data were not statistically significant. Nearly 21.5%, 35.8% and 16.6% of the variabilities in incidence rates of different types of birth defects, adverse pregnancy outcomes and preterm births, respectively, were correlated to average concentrations of above mentioned five contaminants in community drinking water supplies. The monthly average concentrations of two of three agrichemical-based contaminants, i.e., atrazine and nitrate were significantly higher in SW(surface water)-based than GW(ground water)-based community water supplies. On the other hand, concentrations of both disinfectant byproducts and the other agrichemical-based contaminant, i.e., nitrite were significantly higher in GW-based water supplies. Further correlation analysis based on the actual observed concentration (excluding all 0 detections) was conducted utilizing SW-based atrazine and nitrate data and GW-based nitrite, TTHM and HAA5 data. All categories of negative reproductive outcomes were found significantly correlated with at least one type of water contaminants. The overall negative reproductive outcomes were correlated with nitrate, nitrite and atrazine. Birth defects specifically correlated with nitrate and TTHM, whereas adverse pregnancy outcomes were correlated with nitrate, nitrite and HAA5; preterm birth was correlated with the concentrations of nitrite, atrazine and TTHM. Further investigation indicated significant correlations among the explanatory variables (drinking water contaminants data), which is referred as multicollinearity. In such case, multiple linear regression based analysis may not provide reliable results. Partial least squares (PLS) approach of regression analysis was introduced into our study to overcome the multicollinearity problem. As much as 65.5% of the variability in the county-wide average concentrations of five contaminants in public drinking water supplies was explained by the 4 component PLS regression model, whereas only 7.7% of the incidence rates of different types of birth defects, adverse pregnancy outcomes and preterm births in various Illinois counties, were explained by PLS regression. Although, individual negative reproductive outcome model could be generated, the low R2 values indicated the poor reliability of these models. We attempted to corroborate our statistical analysis findings with the physiological effects of various water contaminants reported in the literature. It is well known that excessive exposure to any of the five key water contaminants may cause malfunction of organism or the immune system, reproduction, nervous and endocrine system and others, which may further result in potential risk of developing adverse effects. Nitrate and nitrite in drinking water associate to a certain extent with congenital malformations, such as central nervous system abnormalities, in human offsprings. Excessive exposure to atrazine is known to increase the risk of potential cardiovascular or reproductive system problems. A certain type of TTHM, i.e., BDCM are known to be associated with an increased risk of spontaneous miscarriage in pregnant women. It also may result in an increased risk of reproductive problem, such as fetal growth restriction.

4 pp. / This short fact sheet is taken from "Arizona Well Owner's Guide to Water Supply" currently in print. We plan to complete part 2 of this fact sheet by the end of July, 2009. Please note that the text has already been incorporated into the eXtension Community of Practice web page - - I am the author for the COP/Drinking Water group text on chemistry of naturally occurring water contaminants. / Arizona well water is often contaminated with elevated concentrations of naturally occurring constituents that are a human health concern. This short fact sheet is the first in a two-part series about what naturally occurring contaminants may be found in your water supply well and includes a brief discussion on environmental pollutants that originate from land use activities. If you own a well in Arizona, you have the sole responsibility for checking to see if your drinking water is contaminated. Arizona state law does not require private well owners to test or treat their water for purity. The second part of this series outlines what to sample for and how to understand your analytical results.

Das Wasser der Elbe auf der Höhe von Dresden enthält anorganische Kolloidpartikel, deren Partikelgrößenverteilung nahezu den gesamten kolloidalen Definitionsbereich (1 nm bis 1 µm) überstreicht und die vor allem aus sekundär ausgeschiedener amorpher Kieselsäure sowie aus Oxyhydroxiden des Fe, Al und Mn bestehen. Als wichtigstes Schwermetall führen sie Zn. Ihre Konzentration liegt unter 5×10-1 mg/l, um etwa Faktor 30 unter der Konzentration der Schwebstoffe des Elbwassers (Partikel >1 µm). Wegen ihrer hohen spezifischen Oberfläche sind die Kolloidpartikel als potentielle Träger für Schadstoffe trotz dieser geringeren Massekonzentration nicht gegenüber den Schwebstoffen zu vernachlässigen. Die in der Elbe gemessene Partikelgrößenverteilung ähnelt derjenigen, die zu einem früheren Zeitpunkt im Rhein gefunden worden war. Auch die chemische Zusammensetzung der Kolloidpartikel in der Elbe ist der der Partikel des Rheins ähnlich. Die Konzentration der Kolloidpartikel in der Elbe war aber um Faktor 5 bis 10 höher als im Rhein. Grund für letzteres ist wahrscheinlich der höhere Gehalt des Elbwassers an gelöstem Kohlenstoff (DOC). Im "Bulk" eines Flusses sind kolloidgetragene Schadstoffe - anders als schwebstoffgetragene - vermutlich fast genauso mobil wie echt gelöste. Unterschiede zwischen den Transportgeschwindigkeiten der kolloidgetragenen und der echt gelösten Spurenstoffe treten in bestimmten Situationen auf, in denen das Wasser den "Bulk" eines Flusses verlässt (Sickerbereich unter dem Fluss, Ästuar). Es werden Schlussfolgerungen über die Rolle von Kolloidpartikeln im Ökosystem eines Flusses gezogen und noch bestehende Forschungsdesiderate benannt.

[Truncated abstract] This thesis explores the risk factors and perinatal outcomes associated with prelabour rupture of membranes, with a particular focus on the environmental context. Prelabour rupture of membranes is defined as the rupture of fetal membranes before the onset of labour. It is a relatively common obstetric endpoint, occurring in approximately 8-10% of pregnant women at term (PROM) and in up to 40% of all preterm deliveries (pPROM). Despite the high prevalence of the condition, the biological mechanisms and risk factors, and in particular the role of environmental predictors, behind the development of PROM and pPROM remain largely unclear. A record-based prevalence design was used to analyse a population of 16,229 nulliparous, Caucasian women residing in Perth, Western Australia who gave birth to a single newborn during 2002-2004. Maternal age, socioeconomic status and threatened preterm labour during pregnancy were identified as risk factors for prelabour rupture of membranes. Term PROM was significantly associated with fetal distress (OR 1.19; 95%CI 1.00-1.43) and post-partum haemorrhage (OR 1.99; 95%CI 1.60-2.48). A number of perinatal complications were observed to be associated with the presentation of preterm PROM, including prolapsed cord (OR 13.95; 95%CI 4.57-42.61), ante-partum haemorrhage (OR 3.29; 95%CI 2.20-4.91), post-partum haemorrhage (OR 2.12; 95%CI 1.54-2.91), low birth weight (OR 17.79; 95%CI 13.87-22.82), very low birth weight (OR 20.01; 95%CI 14.12-28.35) and stillbirth (OR 5.42; 95%CI 2.87-10.21). However, the outcomes were similar between pPROM patients and other preterm deliveries, indicating that the complications arose due to the timing of the delivery. In contrast though, the risk factors between the two outcomes varied which may suggest that a different aetiological pathway exists between preterm PROM and other preterm deliveries. The frequency of complications decreased with increasing gestational age at delivery until the pregnancy reached full-term, whereupon an increase in gestational age at delivery resulted in an increased risk of fetal distress and post-partum haemorrhage. This finding is novel and may have important implications for the management of prelabour rupture of membranes, specifically with regard to the relative risks and benefits of expectant management (that is, the patient is admitted to an obstetric facility or hospital and closely monitored) versus planned delivery. ... This study represents the first attempt to investigate the potential associations between environmental risk factors and prelabour rupture of membranes. The results of the thesis provide a substantial contribution to our knowledge on prelabour rupture of membranes, including findings of direct relevance to clinical practice as well as a potentially contributing environmental exposure pathway. These original findings suggest a possible preventative approach to reducing the occurrence and associated morbidity of prelabour rupture of membranes may be feasible, and should be pursued if future research confirms the preliminary findings of this thesis.

Due to the ever increasing concerns about pollutants and contaminants found in water, new treatment technologies have been developed. Ozonation is one of such technologies. It has been widely applied in the treatment of pollutants in water and wastewater treatment processes. Ozone has many applications such as oxidation of organic components, mineral matter, inactivation of viruses, cysts, bacteria, removal of trace pollutants like pesticides and solvents, and removal of tastes and odours. Ozone is the strongest conventional oxidant that can result in complete mineralisation of the organic pollutants to carbon dioxide and water. Because ozone is unstable, it is generally produced onsite in gas mixtures and is immediately introduced to water using gas/liquid type reactors (e.g. bubble columns). The ozone reactions are hence of the type gas liquid reactions, which are complex to model since they involve both chemical reactions, which occur in the liquid phase, and mass transfer from the gas to the liquid phase. This study focuses on two aspects: mass transfer and chemical reactions in multicomponent systems. The mass transfer parameters were determined by experiments under different conditions and the chemical reactions were studied using single component and multicomponent systems. Two models obtained from the literature were adapted to the systems used in this study. Mass transfer parameters in the semi-batch reactor were determined using oxygen and ozone at different flow rates in the presence and absence of t-butanol. t-Butanol is used as a radical scavenger in ozonation studies and it has been found to affect the gas-liquid mass transfer rates. An experimental study was carried out to investigate the effects of t-butanol concentrations on the physical properties of aqueous solutions, including surface tension and viscosity. It was found that t-butanol reduced both properties by 4% for surface tension and by a surprising 30% for viscosity. These reductions in the solution physical properties were correlated to enhancement in the mass transfer coefficient, kL. The mass transfer coefficient increased by about 60% for oxygen and by almost 50% for ozone. The hydrodynamic behaviour of the system used in this work was characterised by a homogeneous bubbling regime. It was also found that the gas holdup was significantly enhanced by the addition of t-butanol. Moreover, the addition of t-butanol was found to significantly reduce the size of gas bubbles, leading to enhancement in the volumetric mass transfer coefficient, kLa. The multicomponent ozonation was studied with two systems, slow reactions when alcohols were used and fast reactions when endocrine disrupting compounds were used. ii These experiments were simulated by mathematical models. The alcohols were selected depending on their volatilization at different initial concentrations and different gas flow rates. The degradation of n-propanol as a single compound was studied at the lowest flow rate of 200 mL/min. It was found that the degradation of n-propanol reached almost 60% within 4 hours. The degradation of the mixture was enhanced with an increase in the number of components in the mixture. It was found that the degradation of the mixture as three compounds reached almost 80% within four hours while the mixture as two compounds reached almost 70%. The effect of pH was studied and it was found that an increase in pH showed slight increase in the reaction. Fast reactions were also investigated by reacting endocrine disrupting chemicals with ozone. The ozone reactions with the endocrine disrupters were studied at different gas flow rates, initial concentrations, ozone concentrations and pH. The degradation of 17β-estradiol (E2) as a single compound was the fastest, reaching about 90% removal in almost 5 minutes. However estrone (E1) degradation was the lowest reaching about 70% removal at the same time. The degradation of mixtures of the endocrine disruptors was found to proceed to lower percentages than individual components under the same conditions. During the multicomponent ozonation of the endocrine disruptors, it was found that 17β-estradiol (E2) converted to estrone (E1) at the beginning of the reaction. A MATLAB code was developed to predict the ozone water reactions for single component and multicomponent systems. Two models were used to simulate the experimental results for single component and multicomponent systems. In the case of single component system, good simulation of both reactions (slow and fast) by model 1 was obtained. However, model 2 gave good agreement with experimental results only in the case of fast reactions. In addition, model 1 was applied for multicomponent reactions (both cases of slow and fast reaction). In the multicomponent reactions by model 1, good agreement with the experimental results was also obtained for both cases of slow and fast reactions.

Submitted by Marcio Emanuel Paixão Santos (marcio.santos@ucsal.br) on 2018-06-21T17:02:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAOVICTORMAGALHAESDUARTE.pdf: 5911465 bytes, checksum: 6117af0ebbe7176d6a0b430080b16c8e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Linda Bulhosa (linda.gomes@ucsal.br) on 2018-06-21T19:19:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAOVICTORMAGALHAESDUARTE.pdf: 5911465 bytes, checksum: 6117af0ebbe7176d6a0b430080b16c8e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-21T19:19:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAOVICTORMAGALHAESDUARTE.pdf: 5911465 bytes, checksum: 6117af0ebbe7176d6a0b430080b16c8e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-03-31 / A pesquisa trata da qualidade da água potável consumida na cidade do Salvador, bem como apresenta as principais conseqüências para a saúde pela ingestão dos contaminantes que possam estar presentes na água potável e as medidas preventivas mais adequadas para removê-las. As contaminações que ocorrem nas fontes advêm do aumento da atividade industrial, do desenvolvimento de compostos agrícolas sintéticos, do despejo dos esgotos doméstico e industrial no meio ambiente sem o devido tratamento. A metodologia adotada incluiu análises da água potável consumida em Salvador, avaliação da legislação brasileira, sendo demonstrado que, mesmo quando são atendidos os parâmetros contidos na mesma, não pode ser garantida que a água potável não vá trazer sérios problemas para a saúde das pessoas a curto, médio e longo prazo. Os resultados demonstram que as pessoas avaliadas não possuem conhecimentos básicos necessários sobre os riscos dos contaminantes da água e o que fazer para minimizar as suas conseqüências. Mesmo sabendo que as concentrações dos contaminantes na água mudam muito de um dia para o outro, adotamos critérios científicos modernos ao serem avaliadas as análises de água fornecida pela empresa de saneamento da cidade, dos poços de água de uma empresa do Pólo Petroquímico de Camaçari e de amostras de água mineral encaminhadas a laboratórios especializados. Varias contaminantes da água foram mencionados e avaliados segundo critérios toxicológicos usando-se valores máximos fixados nas legislações do Brasil, Estados Unidos e Comunidade Européia (Organização Mundial de Saúde). Efeitos aditivos e sinergéticos dos contaminantes da água alem do fator denominado susceptibilidade individual foram citados como condições essenciais nas avaliações dos riscos reais das concentrações e das misturas dos contaminantes presentes na água potável consumida. Foram apresentadas técnicas de tratamento que possibilitam remover as impurezas orgânicas, inorgânicas, biológicas e radioativas da água potável, permitindo que as pessoas possam minimizar ao máximo os riscos de contaminação por via hídrica, conservando a saúde em elevados níveis. Foram ainda feitas sugestões que objetivam reduzir/eliminar as contaminações dos nossos mananciais de água potável, quer seja por ações federais, estaduais e municipais e da colaboração direta dos próprios cidadãos. Diante dos aspectos científicos abordados aqui, concluímos que tanto a água mineral quanto a água da rede de distribuída municipal não são isentas de riscos para consumo humano. / The research talks about the drinking water which is consumed in Salvador city and presents the main health consequences of the contaminants that can be found in the water and the prevention measurements more suitable to remove them. Contaminations which can be found in the water sources come from the growth industrial activities, synthetic agriculture compounds, domestic sewage and waste water that run-off without a proper treatment. The methodology used included drinking water analyzes consumed in Salvador city, an evaluation of Brazilian legislation, being demonstrated that, even when the legal parameters in the laws are fulfilled, it can not warranty that drinking this water will not produce serious health problems in the people in a short, medium and long period of time. The results show that people who were evaluated do not have enough basic knowledge about the risks of water contaminants and they do not know what to do to minimize their consequences. Even knowing that the concentration of the drinking water contaminants change a lot from one day to another, it was adopted modern scientific methodology when the water analyzes from the municipal water supply company were evaluated. The same methodology was adopted in the well water samples from a company in the Petrochemical Complex in Camaçari area and from mineral water samples which were sent to specialized laboratories. Many contaminants in the water were mentioned and evaluated under toxicological standards using maximum values established in the Brazilian, United States and European legislation (World Health Organization). Additive and synergetic effects of the drinking water contaminants besides the factor named individual susceptibility were cited as essential conditions in the real risk assessment of the contaminants concentration and mixtures of them present in the drinking water in study. It was presented point of use treatment techniques that make possible to remove organic, inorganic, biological and radioactive contaminants from drinking water. Doing that, people can minimize as much as possible the contamination risks from water sources, keeping the health in high levels. Yet it was done suggestions that aim to reduce or eliminate the contaminants of our drinking water sources, by federal, state and municipal actions and direct collaboration of the citizens themselves. In front of the scientific aspects mentioned here, we concluded that as much the mineral water as the municipal water from the distribution network are not free of risks to the human consumption.

Due to the ever increasing concerns about pollutants and contaminants found in water, new treatment technologies have been developed. Ozonation is one of such technologies. It has been widely applied in the treatment of pollutants in water and wastewater treatment processes. Ozone has many applications such as oxidation of organic components, mineral matter, inactivation of viruses, cysts, bacteria, removal of trace pollutants like pesticides and solvents, and removal of tastes and odours. Ozone is the strongest conventional oxidant that can result in complete mineralisation of the organic pollutants to carbon dioxide and water. Because ozone is unstable, it is generally produced onsite in gas mixtures and is immediately introduced to water using gas/liquid type reactors (e.g. bubble columns). The ozone reactions are hence of the type gas liquid reactions, which are complex to model since they involve both chemical reactions, which occur in the liquid phase, and mass transfer from the gas to the liquid phase. This study focuses on two aspects: mass transfer and chemical reactions in multicomponent systems. The mass transfer parameters were determined by experiments under different conditions and the chemical reactions were studied using single component and multicomponent systems. Two models obtained from the literature were adapted to the systems used in this study. Mass transfer parameters in the semi-batch reactor were determined using oxygen and ozone at different flow rates in the presence and absence of t-butanol. t-Butanol is used as a radical scavenger in ozonation studies and it has been found to affect the gas¿liquid mass transfer rates. An experimental study was carried out to investigate the effects of t-butanol concentrations on the physical properties of aqueous solutions, including surface tension and viscosity. It was found that t-butanol reduced both properties by 4% for surface tension and by a surprising 30% for viscosity. These reductions in the solution physical properties were correlated to enhancement in the mass transfer coefficient, kL. The mass transfer coefficient increased by about 60% for oxygen and by almost 50% for ozone. The hydrodynamic behaviour of the system used in this work was characterised by a homogeneous bubbling regime. It was also found that the gas holdup was significantly enhanced by the addition of t-butanol. Moreover, the addition of t-butanol was found to significantly reduce the size of gas bubbles, leading to enhancement in the volumetric mass transfer coefficient, kLa. The multicomponent ozonation was studied with two systems, slow reactions when alcohols were used and fast reactions when endocrine disrupting compounds were used. ii These experiments were simulated by mathematical models. The alcohols were selected depending on their volatilization at different initial concentrations and different gas flow rates. The degradation of n-propanol as a single compound was studied at the lowest flow rate of 200 mL/min. It was found that the degradation of n-propanol reached almost 60% within 4 hours. The degradation of the mixture was enhanced with an increase in the number of components in the mixture. It was found that the degradation of the mixture as three compounds reached almost 80% within four hours while the mixture as two compounds reached almost 70%. The effect of pH was studied and it was found that an increase in pH showed slight increase in the reaction. Fast reactions were also investigated by reacting endocrine disrupting chemicals with ozone. The ozone reactions with the endocrine disrupters were studied at different gas flow rates, initial concentrations, ozone concentrations and pH. The degradation of 17¿-estradiol (E2) as a single compound was the fastest, reaching about 90% removal in almost 5 minutes. However estrone (E1) degradation was the lowest reaching about 70% removal at the same time. The degradation of mixtures of the endocrine disruptors was found to proceed to lower percentages than individual components under the same conditions. During the multicomponent ozonation of the endocrine disruptors, it was found that 17¿-estradiol (E2) converted to estrone (E1) at the beginning of the reaction. A MATLAB code was developed to predict the ozone water reactions for single component and multicomponent systems. Two models were used to simulate the experimental results for single component and multicomponent systems. In the case of single component system, good simulation of both reactions (slow and fast) by model 1 was obtained. However, model 2 gave good agreement with experimental results only in the case of fast reactions. In addition, model 1 was applied for multicomponent reactions (both cases of slow and fast reaction). In the multicomponent reactions by model 1, good agreement with the experimental results was also obtained for both cases of slow and fast reactions. / Ministry of Higher Education in Libya and the Libyan Cultural Centre and Educational Bureau in London.