Viruses in surface and drinking waters

Over 114 different human enteric viruses are known. They are all excreted into sewage, and opportunities exist for them to find their way into water distribution systems. The characteristics of the illnesses caused by enteric viruses make their transmission by water difficult to recognize. Methods are not available for isolating all of the enteric viruses from water, so that finding any type of human virus in drinking water is an indication that other types may also be present. With improvements in technology, our laboratory has recently been able to detect group B coxsackieviruses, rotaviruses, and hepatitis A virus in chlorinated drinking water. At present, there are no uniform methods for concentrating, isolating, and identifying viruses in water. Emphasis should be placed on seeking uniformity in methods so that standards can be set for viruses in water.     

Viruses in groundwaters

There is no longer any question as to the presence of human enteroviruses in secondary sewage effluents. Sufficient data are available to indicate that viruses can and do percolate through the soil and move with the groundwater. Also, there is no question that a significant number of human illnesses of viral etiology have been associated with the consumption of untreated or chlorinated groundwater obtained from sewage contaminated wells. Although classical epidemiological investigative evidence linking groundwater with enterovirus disease transmission is not currently available, the alternative data presented in this report indicate that virus in groundwater is of sufficient significance to public health to warrant increased viral surveillance of groundwater. Concurrently, efforts should be directed toward increasing enterovirus disease surveillance and reporting to facilitate the earliest possible recognition of an outbreak and the initiation of an epidemiological investigation. Only under these conditions will the magnitude of the significance of viruses in groundwater be elicited.     

Viruses in wastewaters

Viruses of animals, plants, and bacteria abound in sewage and receiving waters. Their ecological impact has, for the most part, gone unheeded except as it relates to viruses from human sources. Viruses present at levels infective to man have been recovered from waters used for recreational or drinking purposes. Their presence in a water environment virtually always denotes prior contamination by domestic wastes. Neither conventional sewage treatment processes nor the discharge to land or water of sludges produced by these processes achieve full viral control. Many environmental virologists advocate the setting of permissible virus limits for those recreational and potable waters dominated by wastewater effluents. The initiation of regulatory pressure to restrict virus discharges into these water environments has been instituted in Montgomery County, Maryland, and in the states of California and Arizona.     

Viruses in wastewater aerosols

Agricultural land application of wastewater is becoming a widely used means of dealing with water scarcity and diminishing sources of unpolluted water. One of the most common forms of land application—sprinkler irrigation—poses an environmental problems in that it created wastewater aerosols. Air sampling experiments done at distances of up to 100 meters from wastewater irrigation sprinklers have detected several airborne enteroviruses: echovirus 1, 25, 29; poliovirus II, and coxsackie B1. The levels of airborne viruses found in wastewater aerosols may be potentially hazardous at any level. Since the impact of these findings on public health is not clear, epidemiological investigations by standard techniques should be conducted. It is estimated that the number of viruses isolated in environmental samples may be smaller by one or two orders of magnitude (90%–99%) than their actual number due to the limitations of virus recovery procedures. The unvailability of a reliable indicator microorganism which fulfills all the requirements for a biological indicator also makes it difficult to determine the virus level in the aerosols. Thus the scientific knowledge available today is insufficient to determine with certainty that no public health risk is created by wastewater aerosols. A comprehensive prospective study will, in all likelihood, provide answers to most questions and make it possible to assess more reliably the extent of the health risk due to wastewater aerosols.     

Uranium-thorium disequilibrium in north-east Atlantic waters

In this paper we report and compare the concentrations of 234Th and 238U measured in surface and subsurface waters collected in the course of a sampling campaign in the north east Atlantic in June-July 1998. Dissolved 234Th concentrations in surface waters ranged from 5 to 20 Bq m(-3), showing a large deficiency relative to 238U concentrations (typically 42 Bq m-3). This disequilibrium is indicative of active 234Th scavenging from surface waters. Observed 234Th/238U activity ratios, together with corresponding 234Th particulate concentrations, were used to calculate mean residence times for 234Th with respect to scavenging onto particles (tau(diss)) and subsequent removal from surface waters (tau(part)). Residence times in the range 5-30 days were determined for tau(diss) and 4-18 days for tau(part) (n=14). In addition, ultrafiltration experiments at six stations in the course of the same expedition revealed that in north-east Atlantic surface waters a significant fraction (46+/-17%; n=6) of the thorium in the (operationally-defined) dissolved phase (<0.45 microm) is in colloidal form. These observations are consistent with the 'colloidal pumping' model in which it is assumed that 234Th is rapidly absorbed by colloidal particles, which then aggregate, albeit at a slower rate, into larger filterable particles. In essence, colloids act as intermediaries in the transition from the fully dissolved to the filter-retained (>0.45 microm) phase. Thus, the time (tau(c)) for fully dissolved 234Th to appear in the filter-retained fraction is dependent on the rate of colloidal aggregation. Here, we determined tau(c) values in the range 3-17 days.     

Plutonium solubility in sediment pore waters

Using in situ porous cup samplers, dissolved Pu concentrations have been measured over a year in the pore waters from two contrasting sites in the valley of the River Esk, North West England. In saltmarsh sediments, dissolved Pu represents approximately 1 part in 10(6) of the total inventory. The Pu concentration in solution is in the range 1.1-3.5 mBq l-1, varying by a factor of 3 in the course of the year. Most of the changes in dissolved Pu coincide with changes in dissolved Fe and Mn concentrations, with Pu being low in the summer months when Fe and Mn are high. Nevertheless, there are a number of factors which make it unclear as to whether these patterns might be related to seasonal redox changes in the saltmarsh. At the highly organic, reducing reedbed site, the proportion of Pu in solution is typically around 1 part in 10(3), proportionately much higher than in the saltmarsh, giving concentrations ranging between 9.0 and 28.5 mBq l-1, and are apparently maintained by complexation to dissolved organic matter. There is no obvious seasonal pattern at the reedbed site nor is there any relation to any of the dissolved species measured (Fe, Mn, Na, DOC).     

Isolation of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms in Mediterranean waters

Two species or strains of Penicillium were isolated by the enrichment technique from areas exposed to oil seepage. Infrared spectroscopy revealed that, after eight days of treatment, these microorganisms were capable of degrading paraffinic and aromatic hydrocarbons in media made with Mediterranean waters. They could not, however, degrade crude oil.     

Uranium isotopes in Tunisian bottled mineral waters

²³⁴U and ²³⁸U activity concentrations and their relative effective doses have been determined in 10 bottled mineral waters in Tunisia. Alpha spectrometry was used as technique to measure uranium isotopes. The obtained isotopic ratio ²³⁴U/²³⁸U varies between 1.1 and 3 which means that the two isotopes are not in radioactive equilibrium. Measured activity concentration varies between 3.2 and 40 mBq/l for ²³⁴U and between 1.5 and 26.3 mBq/l for ²³⁸U. Effective doses (assuming 2 litres per day of water consumption) coming from this two isotopes are found to vary between 0.16 and 2.02 μSv/a which is lower than the maximum recommended dose level by the WHO.     

Monitoring transitional waters using reduced benthic assemblages

In this study, the use of reduced assemblages of benthic invertebrate taxa is proposed to describe similarity relationships between samples from transitional environments. A data set from four different studies, made up of 641 samples for a total 203 species, was analysed using permutation randomisation tests in order to extract a pool of taxa able to approximate the full set of species. The identified "operational set", comprising 19 taxa, was capable of adequately reproduce similarity relationships between samples (Rho>0.90, p<0.001). All selected taxa were easily extractable from the samples and easy identifiable by non-specialised technicians; these characteristics were considered appropriate for the development of rapid and cost-effective monitoring procedures based on benthic invertebrate assemblages.     

Trace analysis for aromatic hydrocarbons in natural waters

A method for trace analysis of volatile aromatic hydrocarbons in natural water is described. The method is based on sparging water samples with nitrogen, adsorption of hydrocarbons on activated charcoal, followed by desorption into carbon disulfide and gas chromatographic analysis. The sensitivity of the method reaches into the 0.1 to 0.2 μg/L concentration range for individual aromatic hydrocarbons. The accuracy and reliability of the method was validated. The method was used in three field studies: dispersion of aromatic hydrocarbons discharged from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline southern terminal throughout Port Valdez; survey of the Atigun River Watershed after oil spill on June 10, 1979; and chemical characterization of treated effluents from offshore oil extraction platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.     

Assessing and managing sediment contamination in transitional waters

Sediment contamination remains a global problem, particularly in transitional waters such as estuaries and coastal lagoons, which are the recipients of chemicals from multiple near- and far-field sources. Although transitional waters are highly productive ecosystems, approaches for assessing and managing their sediment contamination are not as well developed as in marine and fresh waters. Further, although transitional waters remain defined by their variable and unique natural water quality characteristics, particularly salinity, the biota inhabiting such ecosystems, once thought to be defined by Remane's “paradox of brackish water”, are being redefined. The purpose of the present paper is to build on an earlier but now dated (> 12 years old) review of methods to assess sediment contamination in estuaries, extending this to all transitional waters, including information on integrative assessments and on management decision-making. The following are specifically discussed: chemical assessments; bioindicators; biomarkers; and, biological surveys. Assessment and management of sediment contamination in transitional waters need to be focused on ecosystem services and, where appropriate and possible, be proactive rather than reactive when uncertainty has been suitably reduced.     

Systematic radium survey in spring waters of Slovenia

Radium (226Ra) concentration in 115 Slovenian springs ranged from 7.8 to 43.1 Bq m(-3), well below the current Slovenian limit of 1000 Bq m(-3) for drinking water. It showed two distributions, one grouped at around 24 Bq m(-3) and the other at around 37 Bq m(-3). Contrary to expectation, the level of radium does not always relate to the aquifer type. Only at aquifers and springs composed of acid, intermediate and basic igneous and metamorphic rocks, did radium concentration exceed 36 Bq m(-3) and was below this value at the majority of aquifers composed of carbonate and other sedimentary rocks.     

Radionuclides in hot mineral spring waters in Jordan

Hot mineral springs in Jordan are very attractive to people who seek physical healing but they are unaware of natural radioactive elements that may be contained in the hot mineral water. The activities of the natural radioactive isotopes were measured and the concentrations of the parents of their natural radioactive series were calculated. The measured radionuclides were 234Th, 226Ra, 214Pb, 214Bi, 228Ac, 228Th, 212Pb, 212Bi and 208Tl. In addition the activities of 235U and 40K were measured. The activities ranged from 0.14 to 34.8 Bq/l, while the concentrations of parent uranium and thorium isotopes ranged from 3.0 x 10(-3) to 0.59 mg/l. The results were compared with those for drinking water.     

Abnormal high natural radium concentration in surface waters

Unexpected high 228Ra concentrations, up to 2 Bq 1(-1), were found in waters of a coastal lagoon close to a monazite sand separation plant. Due to their use as process waters in this plant, the initial supposition was a contamination related to its operation. However, it was concluded that these abnormal radium concentrations had a natural origin, springs at the lagoon head area with high 228Ra and 226Ra concentrations. The strong relationship among radium and light rare-earth elements (LREEs), the observed 228Ra/226Ra activity ratio and the rare-earth element pattern in the spring waters suggested that monazite is the main source of nuclides for water, indicating the disturbance of monazite chemical stability by the combined effects of low pH and high salinity. Both factors combined allow relatively low mobility of thorium, but, on the other hand, a relatively high mobility of radium and LREEs.     

Radium removal from mine waters in underground treatment installations

The underground mining of hard coal is widespread in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (southern Poland). In deep mines, inflows of highly mineralised waters containing radium isotopes are numerous. These waters cause severe damage to the natural environment due to the salinity, but additionally radioactive pollution occurs. The region is densely populated, therefore mitigation methods are very important. The method of radium removal has been applied in full technical scale in two coal mines with very good results - in one of the mines radium-bearing waters are treated at the rate of approximately 0.1m(3)s(-1), while in another mine salty waters are purified at the rate of 0.1m(3)s(-1). The purification takes place in special underground galleries without any contact of the mining crew with the radioactive deposits produced during the process. As a result, release of radium is significantly lower, more than 200MBq of (226)Ra and (228)Ra remains underground each day.     

Monitoring the coastal waters of Kuwait for chemical mutagens

Industrial and municipal effluents are currently dumped in the coastal waters of Kuwait. They contain a variety of pollutants, some of which are potentially mutagenic and/or carcinogenic. For detection of these pollutants, marine algae (seaweeds) and clams were used as bioindicators of pollutants in the marine environment. Bacterial mutagenicity assays using fluctuation analysis and the Ames test were used to detect both frameshift and basechange mutagens. The results suggest that the majority of sites along the coast of Kuwait are polluted with low concentrations of mutagenic pollutants. The sources of input and the chemical nature of these pollutants were not determined.     

Marine Bacteria and Viruses in the Water and Bottom Sediments of Sevastopol Bays

Russian Journal of Ecology -     

The quality of Albanian natural waters and the human impact

Albania possesses a wealth of aquatic ecosystems, many of enormous natural and biological value, such as the Lakes Ohrid, Prespa and Shkodra, glacial lakes, river valleys, and coastal lagoons. Although many habitats are highly polluted by inorganic and organic wastes, detailed knowledge on the water quality is still lacking. For the first time, an environmental assessment of the water quality is presented and the main polluting sources identified. As a consequence, a systematic control and the establishment of routine monitoring of surface and groundwater is proposed, which elucidates the present environmental state and helps to develop new strategies of waste and wastewater management. It would help allow Albania to reach an international standard in environmental protection, as a part of UNECE Convention, the Mediterranean Action Plan, the MAP/UNEP Medpol Program and the Basel Convention.     

Microbial and nutrient pollution of coastal bathing waters in Mauritius

The coastal pollution problem in Mauritius is exacerbated by the hydrogeology of the volcanic substratum. Bacterial contamination of bathing waters and nutrients, water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen (DO) were monitored at three different spatial and temporal scales along the coastline of Mauritius during 1997-1998. Standard techniques for water sample collection and analysis set by the American Public Health Association [APHA. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. 19th ed. Washington, DC: APHA, 1995.] were used at: (a) 16 sites around the island over a period of 7 months; (b) 12 stations along a recreational beach over an 18-month period; and (c) at an underground freshwater seepage point over 1 day. Total coliform (TC), faecal coliform (FC), and faecal streptococci (FS) contamination reported during all surveys varied randomly (e.g., with maximum densities in the ranges of 346-2020 TC, 130-2000 FC, and 180-1040 FS at one site) and at times exceeded the established EEC and Environment Protection Agency (EPA) standards for bathing water (e.g., in >90% of samples) to qualify for beach closure. Computed FC:FS ratios were used to pinpoint human faecal matter as the main source of contamination. Nitrate, phosphate, and silicate concentrations in seepage water were high (3600-9485, 38-105, and 9950-24,775 microg l(-1), respectively) and a cause for concern when compared with levels (5-845, 5-72, and 35-6570 microg l(-1), respectively) in cleaner lagoon water samples. Statistical analysis showed significant correlations (for TC and NO3: r=.75, P<.02; for TC and PO4: r=.779, P<.02; for TC and SiO4: r=.731, P<.05; for FC and NO3: r=.773, P<.02; for FC and SiO4: r=.727, P<.05; for FS and SiO4: r=.801 P<.01) between microbial densities and nutrients recorded, confirming the pathogen-contaminated water to be highly eutrophic. There is an urgency for Mauritius to properly address the issue of sewage treatment and wastewater discharge to safeguard its coastal environment, public health, and tourism expansion.     

Pollution studies on Nigerian rivers: Toxic heavy metal status of surface waters in Ibadan City

The levels of the heavy elements cadmium, copper, cobalt, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, and zinc in the major streams and man-made lakes in and around Ibadan City were determined at roughly two monthly intervals between August 1977 and February 1979. They were found to be in the ppb and sub-ppb level except for iron and manganese which were in the ppm range. To assess the quality of these waters with respect to heavy metal contamination, a comparison is made between our results, world averages for both freshwater and seawater, and international water quality standards for drinking water. All elements, except iron manganese, were well within the safety limits. The low level of industrialization in Ibadan has kept its streams and lakes relatively free from heavy metal contamination.