US Environmental Protection Agency Research Articles

EPA finds no PFAS in 10 pesticides

The US Environmental Protection Agency did not find any per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in 10 pesticides, 6 of which were previously reported to contain low parts-per-million levels of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). The results in question were published last year by researchers at Texas Tech University and the US Department of Agriculture ( J. Haz. Mat. Lett. DOI: 10.1016/j.hazl.2022.100067 ). The sample-preparation method used in that study involved solvent dilution, which could have led to erroneous results, the EPA says. The agency suggests that the researchers may have multiplied background levels of PFOS by a large dilution factor, which would result in an overexaggerated concentration or false-positive identification. The EPA developed an extraction method that it says is a more appropriate preparation method than solvent dilution for pesticides containing nonvolatile oil and nonionic surfactants. The agency obtained samples of the 10 pesticides from the study authors and also purchased 4

Inhalant misuse reported to America’s Poison Centers, 2001–2021

Context/Objective This study investigated characteristics and trends of inhalant misuse reported to United States poison centers from 2001 through 2021. Methods Using data from the National Poison Data System and the United States Census Bureau, analyses were conducted of demographic and other characteristics, inhalant category, level of health care received, and medical outcome, and population-based rate trends were assessed. Results United States poison centers managed 26,446 inhalant misuse cases from 2001 through 2021, which equaled an annual average of 1,259 cases. Most inhalant misuse involved males (73.0%) or a single substance (91.0%). Teenagers accounted for 39.7% of cases. Among inhalant misuse cases, 41.4% were associated with a serious medical outcome and 27.7% were admitted to a healthcare facility. Overall, the rate of inhalant misuse per 1,000,000 United States population increased by 9.6% (P = 0.0031) from 5.33 in 2001 to 5.84 in 2010, followed by a decrease to 2.60 (–55.5%, P < 0.001) in 2021. “Freon and other propellants” showed the largest change in rate, increasing from 1.28 in 2001 to 3.55 in 2010 (P < 0.001), before decreasing to 1.36 in 2021 (P < 0.001). This trend was driven by the 13–19-year-old age group, and the trend reversal in 2010 among teenagers coinciding with an almost complete ban on FreonTM by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, which it implemented under the Clean Air Act. Conclusions Although the annual rate of inhalant misuse reported to United States poison centers has been decreasing since 2010, it remains an important public health problem. The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 regulation of FreonTM may have been an important contributor to the dramatic trend reversal and decrease in inhalant misuse rates starting in that year. This may exemplify the potential effect that regulatory efforts can have on public health.

Encapsulation of red mud with ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) for immobilization of alkaline and heavy metals: Experiments and simulations

To alleviate the storage of red mud (RM) and the resulting pollution, this study presented an encapsulation-based strategy for the safe management of RM, and adopted ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) as an encapsulating material due to its superior impermeability and chemisorption properties. It is noteworthy to find that encapsulated material suffered from a selective chemisorption and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were innovatively employed to investigate the selective chemisorption mechanism. The simulation results suggested that distinct bonding forms lead to the selective chemisorption of heavy metals, with Pb being adsorbed by Si–O–Pb chemical bonds and a strong Si–O–Pb–O–Si long chain, while As and Cr only form relatively weak As–O and Cr–O bonds through their attraction to O atoms. With the thickness of the encapsulating material increases, the synergistic effect of chemical solidification and physical package is provided to achieve a stronger stabilization effect. The leaching results indicated that the encapsulated RM exhibited exceptionally low concentrations of hazardous components (i.e., Na at 1.580 mg/L, As at 0.003 mg/L, Cr at 0.027 mg/L, and undetected levels of Pb in encapsulated RM with a thickness of 1.5 mm), far below the limits set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This study opening a new window for the sustainable and efficient management of hazardous solid waste.

Life Cycle Assessment of a Domestic Wastewater Treatment Plant Simulated with Alternative Operational Designs

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a powerful tool to evaluate the environmental impacts of domestic wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operations. It involves a thorough evaluation of the main characteristics or components of the environment, human health, and resources. However, the literature to date is still lacking analysis on the widely varied designs and operational conditions of full-scale WWTPs. The aim here was to integrate analyses such as LCA, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and energy consumption, when considering the environmental impacts of a full-scale WWTP, which can provide practical outputs to aid decision-making on optimum designs and operational conditions. The Russtmiya domestic WWTP, located in Iraq, was considered as the case study. Three operational alternatives were proposed as solutions to improve the WWTP’s performance, as follows: (1) conventional activated sludge with sand filter (CAS), (2) conventional activated sludge with sand filter and nitrogen removal (CAS-N), and (3) membrane bioreactor (MBR). The operation of such alternatives was investigated through modeling and simulation using GPS-X 8.0.1 software. The energy consumption of each alternative was estimated via GPS-X, while the GHG emissions were estimated using three different methods according to the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and GPS-X software. The OpenLCA software (1.10.3) was used to measure all impact categories at both the midpoint and endpoint levels using various methods. As a conclusion, comparing the three proposed alternatives indicated that: (1) the MBR alternative provided the lowest energy consumption and moderate GHG emissions, and (2) the CAS alternative provided the best environmental performance, particularly in aspects such as ozone depletion, global warming, and climate change, where the lowest GHGs emission values had the major contribution.

Validation and standardization of SPE and HPLC-UV methods for simultaneous determination of legacy and insensitive munitions

There have been few attempts to consolidate legacy and insensitive munitions analyses. Furthermore, there are no standard methods for insensitive munitions (IM) in tissues, resulting in overlapping methods and supplementary analyses. The goal of the present study was to validate extraction and instrumental methods previously developed and address analytical methodology gaps (missing tissue matrices, combined legacy and IM analysis, and IM compounds). The method encompasses analytes in waters, soils, and tissues. The primary and secondary instrumental methodologies use high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) and an alternate LC-mass spectrometry (MS) method, which includes 26 compounds of interest (legacy munitions, IM, IM degradation products, and other munitions compounds). The methods were formally evaluated during a series of double-blind round robin studies including a broad variety of laboratories (Government Department of Defense (DoD), Government non-DoD, ammunition manufacturing, commercial, and academic). The results of these round robin studies were gathered to generate recovery ranges for each of the 26 compounds in each of the matrices. The recovery ranges were subsequently compared with existing recovery ranges for standard explosives analysis, United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 8330B. The validation study reveals a capable method, which reduces analysis time for IM and legacy munitions analyses.

Considerations for environmental biogeochemistry and food security for aquaculture around Lake Victoria, Kenya

The impact of population expansion through economic growth and development has been identified as one of the key drivers of both water and sediment contamination from potentially harmful elements (PHEs). This presents a major hazard not only to aquatic ecosystems but local riparian communities and beyond who rely heavily on this natural resource for drinking water and fish—a valuable source of dietary micronutrients and protein. The present study measured biogeochemical concentration of PHEs in water, sediment and fish from locations pooled into four zones within Winam Gulf and Lake Victoria area of Kenya. Captured fish were used as a sentinel receptor of lake health to evaluate potential risks to fisheries and aquaculture food security. In water, concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) were observed above the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) maximum contamination level drinking water guidelines (MCL), with aluminium (Al) observed above the Aquatic Life Criteria in all four zones. Similarly, sediment concentrations in all four zones exceeded the US EPA Effects range low (ERL) threshold guidelines for Cu, nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn) and Pb, with Cu, Zn and Pb classed at moderate contamination levels using the contamination factor. Fish tissue concentrations from the four zones were calculated using recommended daily intakes (RDI) and for PHEs as provisional maximum tolerable intakes (PMTIs) and indicated most macro- and micronutrients were at or below 10% RDI from aquaculture and wild fish, with Se indicating a greater RDI (16–29%) in all the zones. Contributions of PHEs to PMTIs were below threshold guidelines for both aquaculture and wild fish with only Cd, Cr and Pb levels being above the PMTI thresholds. There is a need to assess the long-term effects of persistent anthropogenic PHE input into Winam Gulf and the wider Lake Victoria basin. Continued monitoring of PHEs using both historical and more recent data will enable future management policies to be implemented through improved mitigation strategies to reduce their impact on water quality, fish health and subsequent human health.

Post-synthetic Ln@modified MIL (Ti) framework in sono-photocatalysis degradation of carbaryl

Carbaryl is one of the most widely applicable pesticide to protect fruits, cereals and vegetables, however it is ascribed as one of human carcinogens by US Environmental Protection Agency. Hence, removal of carbaryl from water down to the permissible level is highly recommended. Therefore, the current study interested in the successful removal of carbaryl by catalytic degradation assisted by sonolysis and photolysis. Metal organic framework-based MIL-125-NH2 was synthesized and post modified with pyridine-2,6-dicarbonyl dichloride to produce PDC-MIL-125-NH2. Secondly, lanthanide (Ln) based Eu and Tb was doped in the PDC-MIL-125-NH2 to obtain Ln@PDC-MIL-125-NH2. The synthesized materials were characterized and confirmed by 1HNMR, FTIR, SEM, EDX and XRD. The all obtained materials were employed in the sonolysis, photolysis and sono-photolysis degradation of carbaryl. The results declared that the carbaryl degradation was followed the order of MIL-125-NH2 < PDC@MIL-125-NH2 < Tb@PDC@MIL-125-NH2 < Eu@PDC@MIL-125-NH2 < Eu/Tb@PDC@MIL-125-NH2. In case of Eu/Tb@PDC@MIL-125-NH2, the carbaryl degradation amounts (percentage) within 30 min were significantly enlarged from 304 mg/g (40.5%) for sonolysis to 630 mg/g (84%) for photolysis and to 749.7 mg/g (99.9%) for sono-photolysis. Doping of Eu and Tb within PDC@MIL-125-NH2 improved the catalytic degradation of carbaryl by factor of 2.1. After doping of Eu/Tb within PDC-MIL-125-NH2, the degradation rate in sono-photolysis was accelerated by factor of 2.6. The catalytic degradation of carbaryl was significantly enhanced by applying of sono-photolysis and by immobilization of Ln within PDC-MIL-125-NH2 catalyst. After 6 repetitive sono-photolysis degradation cycles, the degradation percentage of carbaryl was lowered from 99.9% to 92.4% only.

STORET (Storage and Retrieval) method for analysis and identification of water pollutants in the Upper Citarum Watershed, West Java, Indonesia

Water pollution in the Citarum watershed is currently an urgent problem to control. Water pollution usually occurs due to the large number of pollutants entering the water bodies, such as from household, agricultural, industrial, livestock, and land use wastes. This study was conducted in the Citarum upstream watershed and divided into five locations: Situ Cisanti, Cikawao, Koyod, Rancamanyar, and Nanjung. This study aimed to analyze and identify the pollution level in the Citarum upstream watershed based on the BOD (biological oxygen demand), TDS (total dissolved solids), chloride, zinc, total detergent, nitrate, nitrite, lead, mercury, and phenol concentrations. These parameter data were then compared to the Indonesian government regulation for river water quality standards No. 22/2021 and the STORET (Storage and Retrieval) method, based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Water sampling from each location was carried out in different seasons. The STORET value in the rainy season was categorized as slightly polluted with the value of -10, then became -34 in the dry season as heavily polluted. Therefore, water pollution management is necessary to sustain the water resources by controlling the domestic waste and fertilizer application in agriculture and livestock culture.

Earth System at Risk: Challenging Environmental (In)Justice

Earth System at Risk: Challenging Environmental (In)Justice

Residential Proximity to Carcinogenic Industrial Air Emissions and Breast Cancer Incidence in a United States-Wide Prospective Cohort

Purpose: To evaluate whether residential proximity to air emissions of correlated industrial carcinogens, both singly and in combination, are associated with breast cancer incidence. Methods: Using the US Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory, we estimated the 10-year annual average air releases of 26 known or probable carcinogens within 3, 5, and 10 km of Sister Study participants' baseline residences (n = 50,343, 2003–2009). We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between ambient concentrations of each individual compound and incident breast cancer. To assess mixtures, we applied an exposure continuum mapping (ECM) framework to identify latent mixture profiles via a self-organizing map and assessed whether these profiles were related to incident breast cancer by estimating a joint exposure-response function with generalized additive models. Results: During follow-up (mean = 11.6 years), 4,282 breast cancer cases were identified. The exposure prevalence for compounds emitted within 3-km of participants' residences varied from &amp;lt;1%–15%. For individual compounds, HRs for the association between quantiles of emission levels and breast cancer were largely null, except for cadmium, vinyl chloride and asbestos (e.g., asbestos 3-km HR&amp;gt;median vs. no exposure = 2.61, 95% CI: 1.37–5.09). Our application of ECM identified 49 profiles that explained 79% of the variance in emission patterns observed within 3-km of participant residences. Profiles revealed that relatively high levels of exposure to several compounds were rare (&amp;lt;1%) and most participants resided in locations defined by low emissions patterns. Estimation of a joint exposure-response surface indicated that breast cancer was not significantly related to changing patterns of the composition of emission mixtures (P = 0.31). Conclusions: Preliminary results suggest that breast cancer incidence may be related to emissions of certain individual industrial carcinogens, particularly asbestos. Examination of complex exposure scenarios revealed that high simultaneous exposure to many compounds was rare, and that our identified latent patterns of these emissions were not associated with breast cancer.

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds and Contact Dermatitis: A Review and Considerations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The recent global pandemic has resulted in increased use of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs). Currently, QACs are active ingredients in 292 disinfectants recommended by the US EPA for use against SARS-CoV-2. Among QACs, benzalkonium chloride (BAK), cetrimonium bromide (CTAB), cetrimonium chloride (CTAC), didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC), cetrimide, quaternium-15, cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), and benzethonium chloride (BEC) were all identified as potential culprits of skin sensitivity. Given their widespread utilization, additional research is needed to better classify their dermal effects and identify other cross-reactors. In this review, we aimed to expand our knowledge about these QACs to further dissect its potential allergic and irritant dermal effects on healthcare workers during COVID-19.

Stabilization/solidification of Mn-contaminated clay slurry by using CaO-GGBS: Effects of anions

Clay sediment is removed by dredging, resulting in the disposal of enormous waste sediment clay slurries that consumes land space, as well as risks the human health and the environment. Manganese (Mn) is often identified in clay slurries. Quicklime (CaO)-activated ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) can be used to stabilize/solidify (S/S) contaminated soils; nevertheless, few studies have been published on the S/S of Mn-contaminated clay slurries using CaO-GGBS. Moreover, the anions contained in clay slurries may affect the S/S efficiency of CaO-GGBS in treating Mn-contaminated clay slurries, but this effect has hardly been investigated. Therefore, this study investigated the S/S efficiency of CaO-GGBS in treating MnSO4-bearing and Mn(NO3)2-bearing clay slurries. The effect of anions (i.e. SO42− and NO3−) on the strength, leachability, mineralogy, and microstructure of Mn-contaminated clay slurries treated with CaO-GGBS was explored. Results showed that CaO-GGBS could improve the strength of both Mn-contaminated slurries to meet the strength requirement for landfill waste outlined by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The Mn leachabilities of both Mn-contaminated slurries were decreased to be less than the Euro limit for drinking water after cured for 56 days. The MnSO4-bearing slurry generally produced higher UCS while lower Mn leachability than Mn(NO3)2-bearing slurry at the same CaO-GGBS addition. CSH and Mn(OH)2 were formed, thereby enhancing strength and reducing leachability of Mn. Ettringite in CaO-GGBS-treated MnSO4-bearing slurry, which was formed by the supply of SO42− from MnSO4, further contributed to the strength enhancement and the decrease of Mn leachability. Ettringite was the factor leading to the difference in strength and leaching properties between MnSO4-bearing and Mn(NO3)2-bearing clay slurries. Hence, anions contained in Mn-contaminated slurries significantly affected the strength and the Mn leachability, and need to be identified before CaO-GGBS was used to treat such slurries.

Spatiotemporal changes in largemouth bass mercury concentrations from Connecticut waterbodies, 1995-2021.

We evaluated spatiotemporal changes in the mean and variation in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) mercury concentrations over three discrete time periods (1995, 2005-2006, and 2019-2021) across 56 Connecticut waterbodies. We detected largemouth bass raw mercury concentrations that exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Fish Tissue Residue Criterion (≥ 0.30µgg-1 ww) in 75.1%, 63.3%, and 47.7% of all fish sampled during 1995, 2005-2006, and 2019-2021, respectively. Total length (TL)-adjusted largemouth bass mercury concentrations declined across all ecoregions in Connecticut between subsequent sampling periods but increased between 2005-2006 and 2019-2021 in the Northwest Hills/Uplands ecoregion. The coefficient of variation (CV) of largemouth bass TL-adjusted mercury concentrations increased through time, increasing from 25.78% during 1995 to 36.47% during 2019-2021. The probability of a largemouth bass having a raw mercury concentration > 0.30µgg-1 ww increased with total length (TL), but the TL with a 50% probability varied across ecoregions and periods. The variation in largemouth bass mercury concentrations highlights the roles that changes to individual behaviors, food web structure, lake properties, and legacy mercury may play in shaping broad patterns and trends in mercury consumption risks.

Health and ecological risk assessment of potentially toxic metals in road dust at Lalibela and Sekota towns, Ethiopia.

The ecological and health problems resulted from heavy metals (Mn, Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, Pb, As, and Cr) in the road dust in the towns of Sekota and Lalibela, Ethiopia were assessed. The average heavy metal concentrations were ranged from 0.088 (Cd) to 2.714 (Fe) mg/kg. Individual metal and cumulative metals pollution levels in both towns revealed that Lalibela is moderately polluted by Zn, Pb, and Ni and Sekota being moderately polluted by Zn, Pb, Ni, As, Hg, and Cu. Furthermore, the United States Environmental Protection Agency's health risk evaluation model showed that the total heavy metal health risk levels in the road dust ranged from 5.71 × 10-3 (adult) to 2.57 × 10-2 (children), with an average risk of 7.35 × 10-2. Lalibela was found to have higher chance of risk than Sekota. The total lifetime cancer risk varied from 4.51 × 10-9 (for adults, Sekota) to 7.75 × 10-9 (for children, Lalibela), with a mean risk of 6.12 × 10-9 implying a low chance of getting cancer. The hazard quotient and hazard index of all the metals were below the limit. In general, children were found to be more susceptible than adults.

How Water Safety Plans Complement Sanitary Surveys

Key TakeawaysIn the United States, US Environmental Protection Agency sanitary surveys provide valuable interaction between primacy agencies and public water system operators and managers.Water safety plans (WSPs), often used worldwide, can be an additional tool for sanitary surveys to integrate multiple barriers of public water systems and focus on prioritized hazards and conditions.WSPs are reasonable for implementation because they use existing regulatory compliance means as well as operational standards of practice.

Water 2050: Our Responsibility as YPs

From David LaFrance, CEO, AWWA: Most recently, the Last Drop column has focused on how AWWA's Water 2050 initiative is charting the course of water to the year 2050. A critical part of the initiative is making sure many voices—especially the voices of water's current young professionals (YPs)—are framing this forward-looking strategy. When I talk to water's YPs, I am left with confidence about the future. They are bold, smart, and visionary, and 10 of them have paired up and are initiating a Last Drop Takeover. What this means is, for the next five Last Drop columns, you will hear directly from them about their thoughts of the future. In this inaugural Last Drop Takeover, Progga Chirontoni and Eric Kong paint a clear vision of what needs to be done and, importantly, why. Progga is a water/wastewater engineer with HDR Engineering. She has a master's degree in environmental and water resources engineering and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and mathematics. Eric is a project engineer with Freese and Nichols Inc., with more than six years of experience in the design and construction of water production and water resource recovery facilities. Here is what they have to say about the future of water. As we approach the increasingly hot days of summer, two routines are synonymous with this season: water restrictions and road trips—as disparate as they may seem, there is a connection. When you travel across this country, you can seamlessly pass through a town with a population smaller than your local high school to a city that stretches for miles. Even those small communities are part of our world, filled with people who rely on water as much as the next person. Every one of these communities is a crucial element of our water ecosystem and ultimately the future of water. According to AWWA's 2023 State of the Water Industry report, surveyed utilities agreed on the top three issues facing the water industry: (1) renewal of aging water infrastructure, (2) long-term drinking water supply availability, and (3) financing for capital improvements. These issues are not future projections but challenges that we face today. A practical example regarding infrastructure financing is the issue smaller utilities face with dwindling populations. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) “Small Drinking Water Systems Research and Development,” there are more than 143,000 active public water systems in the United States; of those, 97% are considered small systems under the Safe Drinking Water Act, meaning they serve 10,000 or fewer individuals. These small systems are constrained by limited resources, including staff, revenue, and equipment redundancy, but they still are responsible for maintaining and replacing their community's water infrastructure. When these utilities face significant financial hardships, they can quickly fall into a feedback loop, where utility revenue is limited, repairs are postponed, infrastructure fails, and the cycle begins again. Just as this challenge exists, the opposite is just as true with areas facing rapid growth, struggling to maintain resources to keep pace with expanding populations. These and other issues, including water supply reliability, the dearth of a water workforce, a shifting environment due to climate change, and the increased need for innovative technologies, exemplify the crossroads we are at in the water industry. As we forge ahead into the future, the question that humanity has faced when a challenge arises remains the same: what do we do now? How do we face the growing challenges of water scarcity and equity? These issues need to be addressed by us—water professionals—in collaboration with local communities. We do this work not for ourselves but for the people around us. Our hope for the future is more than bare-minimum solutions; it involves thoughtful plans that enrich current and future generations. This goal requires all water professionals to take part in this endeavor, with each individual seeking to solve their puzzle piece for the common goal of protecting public health and the environment through the effective management of water. Nothing is too daunting when we all work together to face these challenges and develop solutions.

A Matter of Checks and Balances

The sanitary survey program was created by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support state primacy agencies in assessing utility progress with implementing water quality requirements in the Ground Water Rule and the Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. In the spring of 2021, EPA said it was planning to issue a direct file rule to integrate cybersecurity into the existing sanitary survey program. Multiple organizations representing water utilities and state primacy agencies communicated to EPA that using the sanitary survey program for cybersecurity was ill-advised. Even so, on March 3, 2023, EPA issued the “Cyber Rule” directing state primacy agencies to assess cybersecurity of public water systems (PWSs) as part of the sanitary survey program—effective immediately. The new Cyber Rule requires all PWSs (n = 151,606) to determine whether they use “operational technology,” meaning hardware and software that detect or cause a change through the direct monitoring or control of physical devices, processes, and events in the enterprise, per the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020, 15 U.S.C. § 271(3)(6). EPA provided states with three compliance options: (1) self-assessment or third-party assessment by a state-approved entity; (2) state assessment during a sanitary survey; or (3) an alternative, equivalent, state-developed cybersecurity program. The draft guidance for the Cyber Rule includes a checklist of 33 controls that EPA determined are “technically feasible for most PWS[s] to address without significant capital expenditures.” Sixteen of these controls are classified by EPA as potential “significant deficiencies” if not implemented. There are numerous implementation challenges, including the ability of a state official to nonintrusively verify that a control has been implemented. The Cyber Rule interprets the use of operational technology as being part of the equipment or operations examined in the sanitary survey, components used for producing and distributing safe drinking water. This represents a significant expansion of the states’ existing sanitary survey inspection obligations. The details of the rule were never proposed or made available for public review and comment, which is the norm under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). While EPA did have discussions with states in the summer of 2022, the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators has consistently advised the agency against using the sanitary survey for addressing cybersecurity. Bypassing APA and other regulatory obligations represents a troubling process issue that undermines the integrity of the rule of law. This includes EPA's determination that the regulatory oversight approach set out by Congress in §2013 of America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018 was, in the administrator's judgment, insufficient. AWIA §2013 amended the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) §1433 to require each community water system serving 3,300 or more people to conduct a risk and resilience assessment (RRA) at least every five years, which explicitly encompass cybersecurity threats to “electronic, computer, or other automated systems.” Further, §2013 requires systems to incorporate the findings of the RRA into emergency response plans, which must address the “strategies and resources to improve the resilience of the system, including the physical security and cybersecurity of the system.” Congress clearly defined a process by which a specific class of PWSs would address cybersecurity. Finally, Congress instructed EPA to directly implement, oversee, and enforce AWIA §2013. Unlike other SDWA requirements, AWIA does not authorize the EPA to delegate implementation to the states. Contrary to congressional direction, the Cyber Rule shifts the burden of oversight to the state. Many of these procedural concerns were shared with EPA in a January 2023 letter from the water community. Undeterred, EPA proceeded with issuing the Cyber Rule. Subsequently, on April 17, the states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Iowa filed a challenge to the Cyber Rule in the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, State of Missouri, et al. v. EPA, et al., No. 23-1787 (8th Cir.). AWWA and the National Rural Water Association have filed to intervene on behalf of the states. The intent of the challenge is to hold EPA accountable for going around the checks and balances created to govern the promulgation of regulations. Perhaps watching the “Three Ring Government” episode from Schoolhouse Rock! is in order since it explains the balance of power between the three branches of government. The judiciary is a last resort for accountability; it is unfortunate that the public–private collaboration called for in the National Cybersecurity Strategy was not exercised. Kevin M. Morley is manager of federal relations at the AWWA Government Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. He can be reached at [email protected].

Determining the potential human health risks posed by heavy metals present in municipal sewage sludge from a wastewater treatment plant

The study looked to establish the elemental composition of heavy metals such as Zn, Mn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, As, and Co, present in sewage sludge and assessed their health risks. Samples were taken from the Gammams Wastewater Treatment Plant in Windhoek, Namibia and used for the analysis. Two samples of sludge were collected twice in the same week. The samples of sewage sludge were subjected to the hot-plate acid digestion method prior to the determination of the heavy metals using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The evaluation of the health risks was performed according to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and South African Guidelines. Their elemental contents ranged from 65.75 - 82.17 mg/kg for Zn, 29.31 - 56.98 mg/kg for Mn, 21.46 - 49.20 mg/kg for Cu, 19.44 - 29.20 mg/kg for Cr, 2.88 - 3.82 mg/kg for Ni, 1.84 - 4.22 mg/kg for Pb, 0.83 - 1.74 mg/kg for As and 0.26 - 0.98 mg/kg for Co. Each of the levels for the heavy metals were found to be below the standard permissible limits of the two regulations and therefore are considered safe for land-based applications (agriculture) and were also associated with low health risks. The risk assessment is considered for the estimation of potential human health risks which also evaluates the likelihood of adverse health risks. Furthermore, the study revealed that children are more susceptible to carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks in comparison to adults via the ingestion pathway.

Appraisal of the Temporospatial Migration and Potential Ecotoxicity of Phthalic Acid Esters in Municipal Effluents, Rivers and Dam—A Catchment-Wide Assessment

Herein, the catchment-wide temporal dynamics and potential ecotoxicological risk of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in aquatic ecosystems were assessed. Specifically, water samples were collected for a period of six consecutive months from seven selected sites, i.e., covering both dry and wet seasons for seasonal variabilities. The appraised PAEs comprised dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), benzylbutyl phthalate (BBP), diphenyl phthalate (DPP), di-n-hexyl phthalate (DHP), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DOP), diisodecyl phthalate (DiDP) and diisononyl phthalate (DiNP)) in municipal wastewater effluents, rivers and dam. Their concentrations were quantified using a gas chromatography–flame ionisation detector (GC–FID) via the liquid–liquid extraction mode. The appraised PAEs were ubiquitous in the selected sampling points, with DBP being the most abundant PAE homologue throughout the assessed localities. In particular, quantifiable concentrations were 18.9, 37.9 and 11.5 μg/L for DBP in wastewater effluents, rivers and the dam catchment, respectively, and for overall Σ10PAEs of minimum, mean and maximum of 0.492, 3.6 ± 9.82 and 63.2 μg/L, respectively. In addition, PAE concentrations in the effluents, rivers, and dam samples showed no significant differences with p &lt; 0.05. The overall prominent sequence for ∑PAEs registered: 53.3 &gt; 10.1 &gt; 10.0 &gt; 9.8 &gt; 4.3 &gt; 2.5 &gt; 1.8 &gt; 1.7 &gt; 1.1 &gt; 0.9% for DBP &gt; DEHP &gt; DiDP &gt; DOP &gt; DHP &gt; DPP &gt; BBP &gt; DMP &gt; DEP &gt; DiNP, respectively. The ecotoxicological risk assessment (risk quotient method) showed that DBP and DiDP posed high risk (RQ ≥ 1), and DOP, DEHP, DHP, DiNP and BBP posed median risk to aquatic organisms (0.1 ≤ RQ &lt; 1), while the risk from DMP and DEP was minimal (RQ &lt; 0.1). Additionally, DBP, DEHP, DOP, DPP and DiDP were higher than the water criterion (3 μg/L) of PAEs recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for the protection of aquatic life. Findings from this study should go a long way in guiding regulators, custodians and catchment management forums, along with interested and affected parties, regarding the status and potential ecotoxicological effects of PAEs in the receiving environment.

OxyChem to convert chlor-alkali plant

OxyChem has picked membrane electrolysis technology from Thyssenkrupp Nucera to replace the diaphragm technology at its largest chlor-alkali facility, in LaPorte, Texas. The project is expected to take 3 years. The US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed banning US imports of the chrysotile asbestos used to make the diaphragms. Olin, another large chlor-alkali maker, said in April that it plans to phase out asbestos diaphragms. Westlake, the other US chlor-alkali maker that uses the diaphragms, says it is in the midst of a multiyear conversion of its one asbestos-based plant in the US.