Water. Desalination + reuse
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RESEARCH MRSA ���superbug��� found in US wastewater-reuse plants Researchers at the University of Maryland���s School of Public Health (UMSPH) in the USA reported on 5 November 2012 that the ���superbug��� methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is prevalent at several US wastewater-reuse plants (WWTPs). However, MRSA was found in the final effluent at only one of the four WWTPs studied, and this was at a site that did not use chlorination. MRSA is well known for causing difficult-to-treat and potentially fatal bacterial infections in hospital patients, but since the late 1990s it has also been infecting otherwise healthy people in community settings. The research team, including UMSPH and University of Nebraska Medical Center researchers, collected wastewater samples throughout the treatment process at four WWTPs. These plants were chosen, in part, because treated effluent discharged from these plants is reused as ���reclaimed wastewater��� in spray irrigation activities. The researchers were interested in whether MRSA remained in the effluent. ���MRSA infections acquired outside of hospital settings - known as communityacquired MRSA or CA-MRSA - are on the rise and can be just as severe as hospital-acquired MRSA,��� says Amy R Sapkota, assistant professor in the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health and research study leader. ���However, we still do not fully understand the potential environmental sources of MRSA or how people in the community come in contact with this microorganism.��� ���Our findings raise potential public health concerns for WWTP workers and individuals exposed to reclaimed wastewater,��� says Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, environmental health doctoral student in the UMSPH and the study���s first author. ���Because of increasing use of reclaimed wastewater, further research is needed to evaluate the risk of exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in treated wastewater.��� The paper Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Detected at Four US Wastewater Treatment Plants was published in the November 2012 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. Health risks from IPR ���unlikely to be significant��� - report The concentrations of residual contaminants in highly processed wastewaters in the USA that could be used for planned indirect potable reuse are, in general, so low that that it is unlikely that there would be any significant risks to health. This is the principal conclusion of a new report on health issues arising from wastewater reuse published by the WateReuse Association. The project Health Effects Concerns of Water Reuse with Research Recommendations (WRA-06-004-1) https://www.watereuse. org/product/06-004-1 evaluated information on the chemical composition of wastewaters at several levels of processing ranging from tertiary treatment to membranes and advanced oxidation and soil treatments. Despite its principal conclusion, the report does identify types and families of chemicals where additional toxicology studies are warranted, because of actual or probable presence in highly processed wastewaters and inadequate data to determine if there is a health hazard. Australian research aids water-reuse investment The Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence announced on 13 August 2012 two new research projects to improve understanding of the costs, benefits and risks that impact on investment in recycling options in Australia. CEO Dr Mark O���Donohue said more than Aus$ 1 million (US$ 1.05 million) has been granted by the organisation for research that will examine the true value of water recycling. The University of Technology Sydney will use national case studies to uncover the full range of actual environmental, economic and social costs, benefits and risks of water recycling. A second study led by Marsden Jacob Associates will develop the first national framework for the economic assessment of new schemes. | 42 | Desalination & Water Reuse | November-December 2012 Testing starts on new French membrane Testing has started on the first fibres to be developed under the French NEOPHIL project, which aims to develop a hollow-fibre membrane for urban wastewater treatment and reuse and set up a producing industry in France. Launched late in 2011, the project is funded by the EU, the Mid Pyrenees region and the government���s Fonds Unique Interminist��riel. It is being coordinated by Toulouse-based Polymem, a manufacturer of hollow-fibre membranes based on permanently hydrophilized polymer and of integrated filtration modules. Other partners in NEOPHIL are: l Arkema ��� manufacturer of resistant polymers and hydrophilizing copolymer blocks l ESPCI Paris Tech ��� research and innovation educational institute l Institut Europ��en des Membranes Montpellier l Veolia Environnement Recherche et Innovation In its first announcement since the commencement of the project, the NEOPHIL group says that the project, based on French academic research institutes, associates leading French small and medium-sized enterprises and major companies with unique expertise in membranes, water and chemistry. Desalination accepted by most Australians says research New research showing most Australians accept desalination as a valuable part of the mix augmenting traditional public water supply for water security has been welcomed by the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia (NCEDA), which funded the survey. Researchers from Deakin, Victoria and Murdoch universities released their report Public Perceptions of, and Responses to, Desalination in Australia at a symposium in Melbourne on 24 August 2012. NCEDA CEO Neil Palmer said public acceptance of the need for desalination for water security was found to be particularly high in Perth, Western Australia, where nearly half of all public drinking water is now produced from the city���s two desalination plants. Palmer said he expected that acceptance of desalination nationwide would be shown to be even higher if research was conducted during harsh drought years. Gain the knowledge to power your future. The IDA Desalination Academy is the International Desalination Association���s premier global training institution focused on desalination and water reuse. The IDA Desalination Academy brings the leading global desal experts to you at the International Water Summit (IWS) with an intensive one-day course focused on Power Desalination Integration. MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2013 | 8:00 am - 6:00 pm International Water Summit (IWS) | Hyatt Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi, UAE This intensive, one-day course includes the following sessions: Power Desalination Integration sessions conducted by Master Teachers of the Academy: Integration of Hybrid Clean Technologies with Renewable Energy To Improve the Sustainability of Water Desalination Dr. Corrado Sommariva ��� President, International Desalination Association, United Arab Emirates Mr. Leon Awerbuch ��� Interim Dean, International Desalination Association, USA Advanced Focus on Intake Structures and Pretreatment for Desalination Dr. Thomas M. Missimer ��� Visiting Professor, Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia Dr. Graeme K. Pearce ��� Membrane Consultancy Associates, United Kingdom The International Desalination Association (IDA) is the world���s leading organization dedicated to the advancement of desalination, desalination technology and water reuse, and the foremost resource for news and information, education, and professional development for the global desalination industry. For more information contact IDA at info@idadesal.org :: Register today at: www.idadesal.org :: Inspiring Innovation and Excellence