Reusing Treated Wastewater: Consideration of the Safety Aspects Associated with Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Water

Marie-Laure Pype¹  Célia M. Manaia²  Sunny C. Jiang³  Amy Pruden⁴  Timothy R. Julian⁵  Kara L. Nelson⁶  David Graham⁷  Pei-Ying Hong⁸ 

[1] Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia;CBQF—Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina—Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, 4202-401 Porto, Portugal;Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA;Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA;Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland;Engineering Research Center for Re-Inventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA;School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK;Water Desalination and Reuse Center, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia;

关键词: water reuse;    wastewater treatment;    source prevention;    monitoring and surveillance;    risk assessment;   

DOI  :  10.3390/w10030244

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

As more countries engage in water reuse, either intended or de facto, there is an urgent need to more comprehensively evaluate resulting environmental and public health concerns. While antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are increasingly coming under the spotlight, as emerging contaminants, existing water reuse regulations and guidelines do not adequately address these concerns. This perspectives paper seeks to frame the various challenges that need to be resolved to identify meaningful and realistic target types and levels of antibiotic resistance benchmarks for water reuse. First, there is the need for standardized and agreed-upon methodologies to identify and quantify ARB and ARGs. Second, even if methodologies are available, identifying which ARB and ARGs to monitor that would best relate to the occurrence of disease burden remains unknown. Third, a framework tailored to assessing the risks associated with ARB and ARGs during reuse is urgently needed. Fourth, similar to protecting drinking water sources, strategies to prevent dissemination of ARB and ARGs via wastewater treatment and reuse are required to ensure that appropriate barriers are emplaced. Finally, current wastewater treatment technologies could benefit from modification or retrofit to more effectively remove ARB and ARGs while also producing a high quality product for water and resource recovery. This perspectives paper highlights the need to consider ARB and ARGs when evaluating the overall safety aspects of water reuse and ways by which this may be accomplished.

【 授权许可】

Unknown