Sludge Watch ==> USGS - Tracing contaminants from sewage treatment plants / sludges

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

This is research that uses rare minerals that are used as imaging chemicals 
in hospital MRIs etc
to track or identify contamination from sewage treatment plants.  This way 
for instance..you could identify the source of  fecal contamination (ie was 
it sludge that got into a drinking well ) since very few livestock get an 
MRI.

It is best to look at the link in this case, since there are many graphs and 
photos.
....................................................................................



http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/tracing_wastewater.html


Tracing Wastewater - Using Unique Compounds to Identify Sources of 
Contamination

Discharge from a wastewater treatment plant on Fourmile Creek, Iowa. USGS 
scientists have been studying the fate and transport of emerging 
contaminants in the creek and their potential use as indicators of 
wastewater contamination


U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
scientists have shown that wastewater treatment plants are a significant 
source of pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants to rivers. A 
recent study analyzed treated wastewater being discharged to rivers from 10 
wastewater treatment plants (sewage treatment plants) for 110 emerging 
contaminants, and found between 28 and 50 of these compounds in the 
wastewater. Commonly detected compounds included antimicrobial disinfectants 
(triclosan), antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole), musk fragrances (tonalide), 
antihistamines (diphenhydramine), and antiepileptic drugs (carbamazepine). 
After analyzing water-quality samples that were collected upstream and 
downstream of the treatment plants, the scientists determined that 
wastewater treatment plants are a significant source of emerging 
contaminants in the streams that were sampled.

This study and others provide evidence that many emerging contaminant 
compounds may make ideal tracers and indicators of wastewater in rivers and 
other water bodies because they are used only by humans. For example:


USGS and EPA scientists have identified 35 compounds in wastewater from 
sewage treatment plants that have the potential for use as indicators of 
human fecal contamination. Water resource managers need rapid methods to 
assess whether or not drinking and recreational waters are free from 
pathogens associated with human fecal matter in many wastewaters. Current 
methods are very time consuming, and these compounds could potentially be 
used as an early warning of the likelihood for unhealthy conditions. Many 
pharmaceuticals, such as carbamazepine and diphenhydramine, are candidates 
because they are ingested and excreted by humans.
In another study, USGS scientists have shown that the discharge from 
wastewater treatment plants can be enriched with gadolinium (Gd), a rare 
earth element. Gadolinium is used by medical facilities as a contrasting 
agent for MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging). Organometalic gadolinium 
complexes make good contrasting agents because of their large magnetic 
moments and extreme stability in the human body. Their stability and their 
ease of measurement (when compared to many emerging contaminants that are 
organic compounds) make them ideal tracers of wastewaters in the 
environment. Water resource managers could use gadolinium in studies of the 
effects of wastewaters on streams, wetlands, and other water bodies.
References
Glassmeyer, S.T., Furlong, E.T., Kolpin, D.W., Cahill, J.D., Zaugg, S.D., 
Werner, S.L., Meyer, M.T., and Kryak, D.D., 2005, Transport of chemical and 
microbial compounds from known wastewater discharges – Potential for use as 
indicators of human fecal contamination: Environmental Science and 
Technology, v. 39, no. 14, p. 5157-5169, doi: 10.1021/es048120k.
Verplanck, P.L., Taylor, H.E., Nordstrom, D.K., Barber, L.B., 2005, Aqueous 
stability of gadolinium in surface waters receiving sewage treatment plant 
effluent, Boulder Creek, Colorado: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 
39, no. 18, p. 6923-6929, doi: 10.1021/es048456u.



More Information
Emerging Contaminants in the Environment
Sources and Source Pathways - Wastewater Treatment Plants
Transport and Fate - In-Stream Processes
Research in Analytical Environmental Trace Element Chemistry and Its Impact 
on Water Quality
Chemical Modeling and Thermodynamic Data Evaluation of Major and Trace 
Elements in Acid Mine Waters and Ground Waters