Management of a toxic cyanobacterium bloom (Planktothrix rubescens) affecting an Italian drinking water basin: a case study.

An extraordinary bloom of Planktothrix rubescens, which can produce microcystins (MCs), was observed in early 2009 in the Occhito basin, used even as a source of drinking water in Southern Italy. Several activities, coordinated by a task force, were implemented to assess and manage the risk associated to drinking water contaminated by cyanobacteria. Main actions were: evaluation of analytical protocols for screening and confirmatory purpose, monitoring the drinking water supply chain, training of operators, a dedicated web site for risk communication.

A case study of sanitary survey on community drinking water supplies after a severe (post-Tsunami) flooding event.

This report presents a case study of a comprehensive sanitary survey on ca. 160 community drinking water supplies after a severe (post-Tsunami) flooding event in Sri Lanka. Sanitary inspection and microbiological and chemical water quality analyses were performed according to specifically-designed procedures established on the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

Determination of low-level acrylamide in drinking water by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

A simple and sensitive liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) method has been developed and validated to confirm and quantify acrylamide monomer (AA) in drinking water using [13C3] acrylamide as internal standard (IS). After a preconcentration by solid-phase extraction with spherical activated carbon, analytes were chromatographed on IonPac ICE-AS1 column (9 x 250 mm) under isocratic conditions using acetonitrile-water-0.1 M formic acid (43 + 52 + 5, v/v/v) as the mobile phase.

Occurrence of Cryptosporidium oocysts in sewage effluents and correlation with microbial, chemical and physical water variables.

Contaminated water are recognized as a potential source of Cryptosporidium oocysts. In Italy studies on the environmental spread of the parasite are still scarce even if a high frequency of serological responses could suggest high rates of endemic Cryptosporidium infections. In this investigation the occurrence of the parasite in water samples from a municipal wastewater treatment plant was monitored with the aim to evaluate possible correlation between oocysts and bacterial indicators, pathogens and physico-chemical parameters using a multivariate analysis.