EU surveys insights: analytical tools, future directions, and the essential requirement for reference materials in wastewater monitoring of SARS-CoV-2, antimicrobial resistance and beyond.

Background: Wastewater surveillance (WWS) acts as a vigilant sentinel system for communities, analysing sewage to protect public health by detecting outbreaks and monitoring trends in pathogens and contaminants. To achieve a thorough comprehension of present and upcoming practices and to identify challenges and opportunities for standardisation and improvement in WWS methodologies, two EU surveys were conducted targeting over 750 WWS laboratories across Europe and other regions. The first survey explored a diverse range of activities currently undertaken or planned by laboratories.

Mitigating risks and maximizing sustainability of treated wastewater reuse for irrigation.

Scarcity of freshwater for agriculture has led to increased utilization of treated wastewater (TWW), establishing it as a significant and reliable source of irrigation water. However, years of research indicate that if not managed adequately, TWW may deleteriously affect soil functioning and plant productivity, and pose a hazard to human and environmental health. This review leverages the experience of researchers, stakeholders, and policymakers from Israel, the United-States, and Europe to present a holistic, multidisciplinary perspective on maximizing the benefits from municipal TWW use for irrigation.

The growing need to establish a global wastewater surveillance consortium for future pandemic preparedness.

Recognizing the risk of pandemic and the importance of monitoring and data sharing, we highlight the importance of establishing a global wastewater surveillance consortium, particularly under the umbrella of an international organization such as WHO, to strengthen future pandemic preparedness.

Wide-scope target screening characterization of legacy and emerging contaminants in the Danube River Basin by liquid and gas chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry.

A state-of-the-art wide-scope target screening of 2,362 chemicals and their transformation products (TPs) was performed in samples collected within the Joint Danube Survey 4 (JDS4) performed in 2019. The analysed contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) included three major categories: plant protection products (PPPs), industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). In total, 586 CECs were detected in the samples including 158 PPPs, 71 industrial chemicals, 348 PPCPs, and 9 other chemicals.

Lagrangian profiles of riverine autotrophy, organic matter transformation, and micropollutants at extreme drought.

On their way from inland to the ocean, flowing water bodies, their constituents and their biotic communities are exposed to complex transport and transformation processes. However, detailed process knowledge as revealed by Lagrangian measurements adjusted to travel time is rare in large rivers, in particular at hydrological extremes. To fill this gap, we investigated autotrophic processes, heterotrophic carbon utilization, and micropollutant concentrations applying a Lagrangian sampling design in a 600 km section of the River Elbe (Germany) at historically low discharge.

Prevalence and circulation patterns of SARS-CoV-2 variants in European sewage mirror clinical data of 54 European cities.

For community-level monitoring, the European Commission under the EU Sewage Sentinel System recommends wastewater-based SARS-CoV-2 surveillance. Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants in a community is pivotal for appropriate public health response. Genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples for tracking variants is challenging, often resulting in low coverage genome sequences, thereby impeding the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 mutations.

Genome Sequencing of Wastewater Confirms the Arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant at Frankfurt Airport but Limited Spread in the City of Frankfurt, Germany, in November 2021.

Wastewater-based severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) surveillance of Frankfurt Airport by genome sequencing was used to detect SARS-CoV-2 variants entering the region. In November 2021, we found all characteristic mutations of Omicron in wastewater originating from Frankfurt Airport before the first confirmed clinical report from an arriving passenger on 26 November 2021.

An analytical framework to assess SDG targets within the context of WEFE nexus in the Mediterranean region.

Understanding the complex relationships amongst Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystems (WEFE nexus) together with the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is critical for the development of a sustainable and secure future in the Mediterranean area. In this study, we analysed 29 case studies across the Mediterranean region which describe potential success stories for the implementation of good nexus practices. We developed an analytical framework for investigating the impacts on 15 SDG targets and we also explicitly quantified the magnitude of interconnection of nexus pillars with SDGs.

An expanded conceptual framework for solution-focused management of chemical pollution in European waters.

Background: This paper describes a conceptual framework for solutions-focused management of chemical contaminants built on novel and systematic approaches for identifying, quantifying and reducing risks of these substances.

Methods: The conceptual framework was developed in interaction with stakeholders representing relevant authorities and organisations responsible for managing environmental quality of water bodies. Stakeholder needs were compiled via a survey and dialogue.

Atmospheric mercury concentrations observed at ground-based monitoring sites globally distributed in the framework of the GMOS network.

Long-term monitoring of data of ambient mercury (Hg) on a global scale to assess its emission, transport, atmospheric chemistry, and deposition processes is vital to understanding the impact of Hg pollution on the environment. The Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS) project was funded by the European Commission (http://www.gmos.

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds in composts and digestates from European countries as determined by the in vitro bioassay and chemical analysis.

Aerobic composting and anaerobic digestion plays an important role in reduction of organic waste by transforming the waste into humus, which is an excellent soil conditioner. However, applications of chemical-contaminated composts on soils may have unwanted consequences such as accumulation of persistent compounds and their transfer into food chains. The present study investigated burden of composts and digestates collected in 16 European countries (88 samples) by the compounds causing dioxin-like effects as determined by use of an in vitro transactivation assay to quantify total concentrations of aryl hydrocarbon receptor-(AhR) mediated potency.

The SOLUTIONS project: challenges and responses for present and future emerging pollutants in land and water resources management.

SOLUTIONS (2013 to 2018) is a European Union Seventh Framework Programme Project (EU-FP7). The project aims to deliver a conceptual framework to support the evidence-based development of environmental policies with regard to water quality. SOLUTIONS will develop the tools for the identification, prioritisation and assessment of those water contaminants that may pose a risk to ecosystems and human health.

Europe-wide survey of estrogenicity in wastewater treatment plant effluents: the need for the effect-based monitoring.

A pan-European monitoring campaign of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents was conducted to obtain a concise picture on a broad range of pollutants including estrogenic compounds. Snapshot samples from 75 WWTP effluents were collected and analysed for concentrations of 150 polar organic and 20 inorganic compounds as well as estrogenicity using the MVLN reporter gene assay. The effect-based assessment determined estrogenicity in 27 of 75 samples tested with the concentrations ranging from 0.

Characterization of the Danube River sediments using the PMF multivariate approach.

Chemical composition data for the Danube River and its tributaries sediments were analyzed using positive matrix factorization (PMF). The objective was to identify both natural and anthropogenic sources affecting Danube Basin. During the Joint Danube Survey 2 (JDS2) campaign 148 bottom sediments samples were collected.

EU-wide monitoring survey on emerging polar organic contaminants in wastewater treatment plant effluents.

In the year 2010, effluents from 90 European wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were analyzed for 156 polar organic chemical contaminants. The analyses were complemented by effect-based monitoring approaches aiming at estrogenicity and dioxin-like toxicity analyzed by in vitro reporter gene bioassays, and yeast and diatom culture acute toxicity optical bioassays. Analyses of organic substances were performed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) or liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) or gas chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS).

Substance-related environmental monitoring strategies regarding soil, groundwater and surface water - an overview.

Substance-related monitoring is an essential tool within environmental risk assessment processes. The soundness of policy decisions including risk management measures is often directly related to the reliability of the environmental monitoring programs. In addition, monitoring programs are required for identifying new and less-investigated pollutants of concern in different environmental media.

Continental scale inverse modeling of common organic water contaminants in European rivers.

The paper presents an analysis of measured riverine concentrations of 16 common organic water contaminants. From observed concentrations we back-calculate emissions and chemical half lives through a simple inverse model. The analysis does not allow identifying a single half life/emission factor combination, but a set of combinations which are Pareto-optimal (or "non-dominated").

Pan-European survey on the occurrence of selected polar organic persistent pollutants in ground water.

This study provides the first pan-European reconnaissance of the occurrence of polar organic persistent pollutants in European ground water. In total, 164 individual ground-water samples from 23 European Countries were collected and analysed (among others) for 59 selected organic compounds, comprising pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, pesticides (and their transformation products), perfluorinated acids (PFAs), benzotriazoles, hormones, alkylphenolics (endocrine disrupters), Caffeine, Diethyltoluamide (DEET), and Triclosan. The most relevant compounds in terms of frequency of detection and maximum concentrations detected were DEET (84%; 454 ng/L), Caffeine (83%; 189 ng/L), PFOA (66%; 39 ng/L), Atrazine (56%; 253 ng/L), Desethylatrazine (55%; 487 ng/L), 1H-Benzotriazole (53%; 1032 ng/L), Methylbenzotriazole (52%; 516 ng/L), Desethylterbutylazine (49%; 266 ng/L), PFOS (48%, 135 ng/L), Simazine (43%; 127 ng/L), Carbamazepine (42%; 390 ng/L), nonylphenoxy acetic acid (NPE(1)C) (42%; 11 microg/L), Bisphenol A (40%; 2.

Sucralose screening in European surface waters using a solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method.

An analytical method was developed for the analysis of sucralose, a persistent chlorinated calorie-free sugar substitute, in surface waters. The method is based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) of 400mL water using Oasis HLB (Waters) adsorber material, followed by negative electrospray ionization (ESI) triple quadrupole LC-MS-MS detection. Quantification was performed by external calibration, as well as by isotope dilution with deuterated sucralose d6 internal standard.

EU-wide survey of polar organic persistent pollutants in European river waters.

This study provides the first EU-wide reconnaissance of the occurrence of polar organic persistent pollutants in European river waters. More than 100 individual water samples from over 100 European rivers from 27 European Countries were analysed for 35 selected compounds, comprising pharmaceuticals, pesticides, PFOS, PFOA, benzotriazoles, hormones, and endocrine disrupters. Around 40 laboratories participated in this sampling exercise.

Coordinating links among research, standardisation and policy in support of water framework directive chemical monitoring requirements.

The need for coordination among scientific and policy activities is an old debate in which respective communities have often tried to impose their views rather than reflecting on pragmatic solutions. In the last few years, however, constructive exchanges have taken place in the context of expert groups linked to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and related EU funded research projects, which have resulted in a better understanding of communication and knowledge transfer gaps. These exchanges concern not only the way research is being interfaced with water policies, but also how improved coordination could be organised regarding technical specifications linked to standardisation.

Reference materials for the monitoring of the aquatic environment--a review with special emphasis on organic priority pollutants.

During recent years, the awareness of quality assurance and quality control in environmental analyses has constantly increased, especially due to the implementation of new guidelines and regulations at both the national and international level. Achieving comparable results by using certified reference materials is one of the primary concerns of the scientific community. As a result, there is a growing demand for certified reference materials to cover different matrices and pollutants.

Triazines in the aquatic systems of the Eastern Chinese Rivers Liao-He and Yangtse.

The results of a one-year monitoring program on the two Eastern Chinese River systems, i.e. the Liao-He and the Yangtse, with special emphasis on the presence of triazine herbicides are presented.