|
Water Research Foundation has undertaken the Endocrine Disruptors (EDC) / Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCP) Strategic Initiative to develop integrated projects focused on EDCs and PPCPs in drinking water and identifying solutions to key water utility challenges associated with these classes of compounds. The Foundation will commit up to $1 million in funding per year for the initiative, which is expected to be substantially leveraged with partner co-funding and researcher in-kind contributions. The initiative will be sustained until the objectives outlined below are achieved; the target timeframe for the initiative is 5-7 years.
EDCs and PPCPs are classes of emerging contaminants that occur ubiquitously in municipal wastewater effluents and subsequently occur in source waters for drinking water treatment plants. While EDCs and PPCPs have been known to occur in source waters for more than 30 years, it is only in the past decade that information linking these chemicals to impacts on aquatic species has brought the issue to the forefront. These compounds are receiving growing attention from the scientific community, regulatory agencies, and the public at large because a number of them have been reported to interfere with human and animal hormone systems, and thus have the potential to produce adverse developmental and reproductive outcomes at sub-nanogram levels of exposure.
In light of these concerns, the Foundation has historically sponsored or co-sponsored numerous individual research projects to address various aspects of EDC and PPCP measurement, occurrence, fate, transport, treatment, and human health relevance. With the establishment of the EDC/PPCP Strategic Initiative, Water Research Foundation will develop a sustained, multi-year, integrated research effort built around achieving the specific long-term objectives listed below.
Objectives
Each of the Foundation’s strategic initiatives is based on several specific objectives that represent problems to be solved or opportunities to be attained by the initiative. The following three objectives have been established for the EDC/PPCP strategic initiative. All projects funded under the initiative will contribute to meeting one or more of these objectives:
Integrative Frameworks to Assess and Communicate Risk
With the ever increasing ability to detect a wider spectrum of contaminants at lower concentration thresholds, reports of measurable levels of these compounds in drinking water can be expected to increase. Regardless of concentration levels, the occurrence of EDCs and PPCPs in drinking water is of understandable concern to the public. Water utilities are generally not prepared to address such concerns due to the lack of relevant and accessible risk information. Although a considerable amount of research has been conducted by Water Research Foundation, EPA, State agencies, USGS, and international organizations, a coherent message about health risks has not emerged and regulatory agencies have not yet addressed the issue. This poses a dilemma for water utilities as occurrence and treatment information grows, yet the notion of acceptable levels of exposure remains uncertain. The need for meaningful risk communication will be addressed through development of a framework delineating issues of concern and risk management alternatives.
Analytical Methods to Support EDC/PPCP Research Objectives
Most EDC/PPCP research depends fundamentally on contaminant measurement data and confidence in study findings can be limited by poor or uncertain data quality. The typical sub-µg/L concentration region of these compounds presents new challenges for analytical measurement systems which have heretofore not been subject to consistent quality control systems. In order to maximize the value of utility sampling efforts, treatment studies, and other related research, analytical methods must be reliable and robust. The precision and accuracy levels of resulting data should be understood so that interpretations and conclusions based on the data can be appropriately informed. This goal applies to the need for internal data quality consistency within individual studies and to the need for such consistency across different studies, without which valid comparison and compilation efforts are not possible.
Assess Watershed and Treatment Impact on EDC/PPCP Exposure at the Tap
The presence of EDCs/PPCPs at the tap relates to their origins in the watershed (i.e., wastewater impact) which can vary with the season, region, load and the type of treatment. Should control of EDC/PPCPs be judged appropriate to manage human exposure in drinking water, this would have to be implemented at the source and/or through water treatment plants processes. Knowledge gained from addressing central issues of occurrence and control will help utilities establish the best treatment strategies.
Expert Panel
The expert panel is comprised of volunteers who provide direction and long-term stewardship for the strategic initiative.
Work Products
Expert Workshop Report (pdf, 1.06 mb)
On October 2–3, 2007, an Expert Workshop was held at Marina del Rey, California to get input from water industry experts on the development of suggested research projects for the EDCs and PPCPs Strategic Initiative. The workshop attendees included water utilities, consulting firms, universities, the USEPA, and Foundation staff. The workshop was facilitated by Ed Means of Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. This workshop report was developed from a white paper that summarizes the state of science and the expert workshop.
Strategic Plan (pdf, 51 kb)
The Strategic Plan has been developed by the expert panel to set forth the objectives for the initiative and the sequenced plan of projects to achieve the objectives. The expert panel will evaluate the plan on an ongoing basis and revise it as necessary to respond to changing subscriber needs, results of ongoing relevant research, and input from subscribers, research partners, and other stakeholders.
|