Revision of the council directive on the quality of water intended for human consumption

The current European Directive for the quality of drinking water was originally proposed in 1975 and adopted in 1980. With improved scientific knowledge and a desire to simplify, consolidate and update existing legislation, the commission is currently revising the Directive. Proposed changes include a significant reduction in the value of the lead parameter, which will involve countries such as the UK with considerable expenditure related to the removal of lead pipes and fittings in the water systems. Water quality will in future be measured and expected to comply at the tap. Other proposed changes are also outlined.     

The effect of coagulation on the toxicity and mutagenicity of reclaimed municipal effluents

The objectives of this work were the assessment of the effectiveness of coagulation on the reclamation of secondary effluents and the evaluation of the quality of reclaimed waters by the examination of their ecotoxic and mutagenic properties. Aluminum coagulants resulted in higher removal of organic content, than iron coagulant, reaching up to 40%; the removal of heavy metals, such as zinc and copper was enhanced by the addition of a low strength anionic flocculant. The toxicity of pre-concentrated samples to the bacteria Vibrio fischerii was related to the heavy metal content, especially zinc and copper, indicating the significance of the metals bioavailability and their potential interactive effects. The secondary effluents exhibited mutagenic effects on strain TA 98; these effects were increased during coagulation with ferric chloride (both in absence and presence of flocculant). However, the addition of aluminum coagulants resulted in a decrease of mutagenic potential of secondary effluents, due to the extended removal of organic matter.     

Studies on Pollutant Dispersion from Moving Vehicles

Remote sensing instruments may be used to make measurements of emission levels from individual vehicles under realdriving conditions. In designing such an instrument, that will identify the gross polluters, the CFD modelling approach has been used to study the effects of the parameters involved on the characteristics of the exhaust gas plume. The analysis was performed using the ADREA-HF code in open space, street canyon and tunnel environments, with sensitivity parameters the car speed and meteorological conditions. The calculations have been performed in a moving coordinate system, with the car and site geometry being fully resolved. A discussion is given on the effects of the various parameters affecting the design of the instrument.