Communicating the risks and science of microconstituents in wastewater

OBJECTIVE: As the water shortage crisis worldwide worsens, alternative water supplies, such as reclaimed water, are being sought. The aim of this study was to examine the multidisciplinary aspects of communicating the risks and science of microconstituents in reclaimed water. This paper is divided into three sections: public concerns and perceptions of reclaimed wastewater, detection techniques of microconstituents in water, and public health aspects of specific microconstituents. METHODS: Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the larger project, a search of various electronic databases was conducted. Keywords were used as single terms, phrases, and complex Boolean search strings. Inclusion criteria were: peer-reviewed papers published in English (1990 to present); details of methodology of study techniques; and primary research. The references of all articles were screened as well. RESULTS: The abstracts of 54 articles published in peer-reviewed science or engineering journals were examined. Of these, 38 articles were accessible for hardcopy review, with the remaining articles examined solely by their abstracts. FINDINGS: Before any reclaimed water project can become a reality, the public must accept it. Health consequences were the primary concern when examining public attitudes towards various reclaimed water uses. As such, research is needed to demonstrate the safety of reclaimed water. However the definitive data on reclaimed water which would support no adverse health effects is lacking. Moreover, no requirement currently exists to conduct analyses for unregulated organic contaminants potentially present in wastewater at microgram-per-liter levels. Likewise, the human heath effects of the specific microconstituents are unknown.