Winston Lung Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Virginia

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Winston LungDepartment of Civil and
Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Virginia
Quantifying the Fate and Transport of EDCs and
PPCPs In Ecosystems An International
Collaboration of Multidisciplinary Research
under the U21 Water Future Network a Progress
Report
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Focus of Research

• To Date, Lab Measuring Techniques Already Widely
  Studied
• Removal of EDCs and PPCPs also a Popular Research
  Topic
• However, Few Quantitative Studies on their Fate
  and Transport Once They Are Released to Receiving
  Waters
• Yet, Health Risk on Water Supply and Aquatic
  Impact are Great Concern
• Focus on Quantifying the Fate and Transport of
  These Chemicals in Selected Ecosystems

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A Historic PerspectiveContaminant Levels in
Receiving Waters
Sediment
Bacteria
10,000
End Point Fecal Coliform 200 cfu/100 mL
BOD
1,000
100
End Point DO 5 mg/L
Nutrients
10
1960s
Concentration
1 mg/L
Chl a
Persistent Organic Pollutants
End Point Chl a 30 µg/L
100
Metals
10
1970s
1 µg/L
EDCs PPCPs
1980s
100
10
1 ng/L
2000s
0.1
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Quantifying Processes in Ecosystems

• Mass Transport in Rivers, Lakes, Reservoirs,
  Estuaries, Coastal Bays, and Wetlands
• - Advection and Dispersion
• - Settling of Sorbed Particles
• Physical-Chemical Process
• - Adsorption
• Chemical Processes
• - Photodegradation
• - Biotransformation
• Biochemical Processes
• - Biodegradation
• Biological Processes
• - Microbial Uptake of Aquatic Species

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Technical Challenges

• Loading Rate Estimates
• - Point Sources
• - Nonpoint Sources
• Research on Water Column Kinetics
• - Photodegradation
• - Biotransformation
• - Adsorption
• Quantifying Sediment-Water Interactions
• Field Studies of Aquatic Impacts
• Data Support is Essential

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Research and Monitoringto Support Modeling

• Hydrographical Data of Ecosystem
• Hydrological Data of Watershed
• Source Loading Rate Estimates of Select Chemicals
• Measured Concentrations in Receiving Water and
  Sediment
• Science to Support Quantifying Key Attenuation
  Processes in Ambient Waters

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Currently Available Code

• Public Domain Models
• HSPF (Watershed Model)
• Receiving Water Models
• VisJet (Mixing Zone)
• EFDC (Ambient Water)
• CE-QUAL-W2 (Reservoirs and Estuaries)
• WASP

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Model Sophistication

• Level I
• - Single Chemical Species
• - Simple 1st-Order Kinetics
• Level II
• - Single Surrogate
• - End Point Contaminant or Toxicity
• Level III - Multiple Species
• - Species Succession
• - Combined Impacts
• Level IV Built-in Kinetics
• - Independent Derivation of Process Rates
• Level V Impact on Fish
• - Fish Feminization

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Workshop Participants

• Graham Steed, WFSC Program Manager
• Winston Lung, University of Virginia Overview
  and Focus of Proposed Research
• Joseph H.W. Lee, University of Hong Kong A New
  Approach to Determination of Mixing Zones
• John Mamrick, Tetra Tech, Inc. Modeling
  Contaminant Transport and Fate in Surface Water
  Systems
• Michael Rivett, University of Birmingham
  Assessing the Role of the Riverbed Hyporheic
  Zone in
• Controlling EDC Fate and Transport
• Andrew Hewitt, CART, New Zealand Pesticide
  Transport and Deposition in Aquatic Environments
  from Spray and Vapor Drift
• Naresh Singhal, University of Auckland Sources,
  Transport Pathways, and Fate of Estrogenic EDCs
  in the Environment
• How Yong Ng, National University of Singapore
  Biodegradation and Sorption of EDCs by Sludge
• Kenneth M.Y. Leung, University of Hong Kong The
  Potential Use of Biomonitoring Data for Revealing
  the Fate and Ecological Risks of Endocrine
  Disrupting Chemicals
• F. Michael Saunders, National University of
  Singapore Fate of Wastewater Persistent Organics
  in Water Column and Role of Aquatic Plant
  Processes

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Workshop Outcome and Action Items

• Phase I
• - a Position Paper used a tool to solicit
  funding
• Phase II
• - a Medium Project (National Application)
• Phase II
• - Initial Pilot Study (20K)
• - a Mega Project (5-10M 3-Year)

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Tentative Outline of Position Paper

• Background and Rationale
• - Aquatic Impact (Fish Feminization Drinking
  Water Supply)
• - Why EDCs and Pharmaceuticals?
• Regulatory Issues
• - in Different Countries and Regions
• - Legal Policy
• Target Compounds
• - Estrogens Antibiotics
• - Nonylphenol
• - Bisphenol-A (BPA)
• Observed Levels and Effects
• - Exposures and combined impact
• U21 Expertise on EDCs PPCPs
• -

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Potential Study Sites

• Moores Creek, Charlottesville, VA
• - Mixing Zone and Ambient Water Impact
• The Tame River in Birmingham, UK
• - Ambient Impact on an Urban River
• A Coastal Embayment in Hong Kong
• - Aquatic Impact on Fish Farms
• A Site in Singapore or New Zealand
• - A Freshwater Reservoir System

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UVa Ongoing Collaboration with NTU Modeling
Attenuation of Antibiotics in Dahan and Sindian
Rivers in Taiwan
Target Compounds Acetaminophen, Erythromycin and
Gemfibrozil
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Results of Simple Mixing Zone Model with
Attenuation of EDCs 0.5 day-1
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The Patuxent Estuary and Monitoring Stations
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Attenuation of Antibiotics in The Patuxent
EstuaryModel Results