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Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality (1994)

Chapter: 4 Public Health Issues

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Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
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4
Public Health Issues

A major consideration in the use of impaired quality water for artificial recharge is the possible presence of chemical and microbiological agents in the source water that may be hazardous to human health. Such concerns apply primarily to potable use, although human exposure may occur from nonpotable uses such as agricultural irrigation. In general, however, the potential for exposure to possible hazards is less for nonpotable reuse, and consequently the risks are significantly lower. Thus this chapter focuses primarily on health issues related to potable reuse.

The traditional maxim for selecting drinking water supplies has been to use the highest quality source available. This principle has guided the selection of potable water supplies for at least 150 years. Thus, although indirect potable reuse occurs throughout the nation and world wherever treated wastewater is discharged into a water course or underground and withdrawn downstream or downgradient for potable purposes, such sources are in general less desirable than using a higher quality drinking water source. The central question for artificial recharge then is: Can ground water recharged with source waters of impaired quality satisfy this maxim? If so, can users be assured that such waters do not threaten human health? How much and what kind of treatment is required prior to recharge? Was treatment planned considering (1) regulatory requirements which may prohibit ground water contamination, (2) the extent to which improvement in quality can occur in the soil and aquifer because of chemical and microbiological transformations, (3) whether the extracted water can meet drinking water standards as set by EPA, and (4) whether the extracted water will be

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

used for potable purposes or other purposes that might result in human exposure?

Public health concern over the use of recovered water from ground water recharged with source waters of impaired quality centers on the difficulty in identifying and estimating human exposures to the potentially toxic chemicals and microorganisms that may be present. To some extent the assessment of possible health risks can rely on the vast body of knowledge that has been developed for water supplies using conventional source waters, such as ground water from relatively uncontaminated aquifers and surface waters. However, there is a substantial amount of uncertainty even for such waters, principally related to the presence of synthetic organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals disinfection by-products, and pathogenic organisms.

Studies have been made of the chemical and microbiological characteristics of recovered water, although they are limited in number and scope. Several studies have shown that the recovered water can meet drinking water standards, even when the recharge source is treated municipal wastewater. Such findings lead some experts to the conclusion that these extracted waters are as acceptable as water supplied from traditional sources. Other experts strongly disagree, saying that water originating from an impaired source is inherently more risky. For instance, disinfection of the recharge waters may develop a different mix of disinfection by-products (DBPs), often unidentified, from those found in conventional water supplies. Also, the characterizations of the organic material and the full range of microbiological constituents are incomplete. In addition, source waters of impaired quality and recharge water withdrawn from the aquifer at the point of use may contain some contaminants at higher concentrations than are likely to be present in conventional water supplies. And throughout the whole process there is increased reliance on technology and management, leaving open the door for errors. Thus, the question arises whether drinking water standards developed for conventional water supply systems are sufficiently protective of human health when ground water is recharged with waters of impaired quality.

The assessment of health risks associated with recharge using impaired sources is far from definitive because there are limited chemical and toxicological data and inherent limitations in the available toxicological and epidemiological methods. The limited data and extrapolation methodologies used in toxicological assessments provide a source of limitations and uncertainties in the overall risk characterization. Similarly, epidemiological studies suffer from the need for very long time periods required, because cancers have latency periods of 15 years or more. Also, such studies require large populations to uncover the generally low risks associated with low concentrations of toxicants. Past studies of the possible adverse health effects from reclaimed water have tended to be limited in terms of toxicological characterization and have focused on those chemicals for which drinking water standards exist.

The challenge in considering the health risks from recharge systems is to

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

assess and understand these relative risks and develop strategies for the use and operation of recharge systems to minimize them. A primary goal is the need to minimize the concentrations of possible DBPs and the potential exposures to pathogenic microorganisms. This goal takes on added dimensions, however, in recharged ground water systems because many of the organic precursors of the DBPs are different generally from those in conventional water supply systems. In addition, the behavior and fate of the microorganisms, as well as the DBPs (and, indeed, other chemical toxicants) in the ground water recharge system affect their concentrations at the point of extraction. Developing an understanding of the chemical and microbiological composition and changes in these complex recharge systems will allow the optimal use of this water augmentation strategy.

RISK ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY, APPROACHES, AND INTERPRETATION

Human health risk assessment is a process used to evaluate the nature and magnitude of potential health risks associated with exposure to environmental agents, including chemicals and microorganisms. The product of the evaluation is a statement regarding the probability that populations so exposed will be harmed, and to what degree—whether expressed in quantitative or qualitative ways (NRC, 1994). Such assessments generally contain four steps (NRC, 1983): hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. This methodology has been used extensively to characterize the risks associated with environmental and occupational hazards and can be used along with epidemiological information to provide a perspective on the possible risks related to exposures from the use of ground water recharged with waters of impaired quality.

For recovered water, hazard identification entails identification of the contaminants that are suspected to pose health hazards and a description of the specific forms of toxicity (neurotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and so on) that can be caused by the contaminants of concern. Information for this step is typically derived from epidemiological and animal studies and other types of experimental work. Carcinogenic properties and noncarcinogenic effects are considered.

Dose-response assessment entails a further evaluation of the conditions under which the toxic properties of a chemical might be manifested in exposed people, with particular emphasis on the quantitative relation between the dose and the toxic response. The development of this relationship may involve the use of mathematical models. A dose-response assessment identifies any toxicological endpoints associated with specified exposure levels or provides an estimate of the relationship between the increased likelihood and/or severity of adverse effects and the extent of exposure to a chemical. (A discussion of the issues pertinent to a microbial risk assessment can be found later in this chapter.)

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

Exposure assessment involves specifying the population that might be exposed to the agent of concern, identifying the routes through which exposure can occur, and estimating the magnitude, duration, and timing of the doses that people might receive as a result of their exposure.

Risk characterization involves integration of information from the first three steps to develop a qualitative or quantitative estimate of the likelihood that any of the hazards associated with the agent of concern will be realized in exposed people. This is the step in which risk assessment results are expressed. Risk characterization should also include a full discussion of the uncertainties associated with the estimates of risk.

Not every risk assessment encompasses all four steps. Sometimes only a hazard identification will be conducted to evaluate the potential of a substance to cause human health effects. Regulators sometimes take the additional step of ranking the potency of chemicals—what is known as hazard ranking. Sometimes potency information is combined with exposure data to produce a risk ranking. These techniques all use some, but not all, of the four steps of the quantitative risk assessment process (NRC, 1994).

For the purpose of assessing chemical constituents in recovered water, no original toxicity evaluation is done. Instead, reference toxicity values such as reference doses (for noncarcinogens) and potency factors (for carcinogens) are used. The reference dose for a noncarcinogenic end point is based on the assumption that a threshold exists for that specific toxic effect. It is an estimated dose for a daily exposure that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime. For carcinogens, cancer potency (or slope) factors are usually estimated using a linear nonthreshold mathematical extrapolation model for low-dose extrapolation. The potency factor is characterized as an upper-bound estimate or the 95th percentile confidence limit (95% UCL) of the probability of response per unit intake of chemical over a lifetime. The upper-bound estimate means that the actual risk is likely to be less than the predicted risk.

The potential doses to the exposed population are calculated on the basis of known or estimated parameters. For recovered water to be used for potable purposes, the exposure is assumed to be the dose contained in 2 liters (1) of water that is consumed by an adult on a daily basis for a lifetime. However, it is recognized that there may be additional routes of exposure, such as skin absorption and inhalation of volatile chemicals from water used indoors.

The potential health risks associated with the source water are characterized according to the nature and magnitude of the risk. For carcinogens, the risk is expressed as the probability of cancer occurrence. The negligible risk level generally recognized by regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 1 in 1 million (1 × 10-6). This means that there is the probability that one person in a population of 1 million will get cancer at the estimated exposure level. This also means that, for example, at the present

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

background rate of 25 percent cancer occurrence in the U.S. population, exposure to the chemical will increase the risk of getting cancer from 250,000 in 1 million to 250,001 in 1 million.

For noncarcinogens, if the exposure (or dose) is less than the reference dose, then it is not likely to be associated with health risk. As an indirect means to characterize exposure, one may compare the concentration of a chemical found in the source water to the drinking water standard established for that chemical. The comparison will be valid if the standard is derived from a reference dose and the exposure to an adult is equivalent to a dose resulting from consuming 2 liters of the water per day.

Another approach is to use the hazard index for assessing the overall potential for noncarcinogenic effects posed by chemicals in the source water. The underlying assumption is that multiple subthreshold exposures could result in an adverse effect and that the magnitude of the effect will be proportional to the sum of the ratios of the subthreshold exposures to acceptable exposures. If the sum of the ratios (or hazard indices) exceeds one, the exposures may result in a potential health effect.

Drinking water standards and health advisories (HAs) are published by the Office of Water of the Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1993b). The drinking water standards include maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs) and maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). The MCLGs (which are non-enforceable) are set at a concentration of zero for carcinogens as a matter of EPA policy. However, none of the MCLs (which are enforceable) are zero because they are based on a number of factors, including acceptable risk, detection limits, feasibility, and economic factors. The Health Advisory Program was started by EPA in 1978 to provide information and guidance to individuals and agencies concerned with potential risk from drinking water contaminants for which no national regulations currently exist. HAs are prepared for contaminants that meet two criteria: (1) the contaminant has the potential to cause adverse health effects in exposed humans, and (2) the contaminant is either known to occur or might reasonably be expected to occur in drinking water supplies. Guidance for the firt 20 contaminants was issued in 1979, and by 1994 the list contained 189 chemicals and 6 radionuclides.

In assessing the potential impacts of long-term human exposure to recharged ground water, the degree to which any recovered water (after treatment) used as a public water supply meets these (enforceable) MCLs would have to be determined. However, in considering the suitability of a recharge system when the aquifer is to be used as a potable supply, the HAs should be considered as well, especially when there is no comparable MCL for a particular chemical.

STUDIES OF HEALTH IMPACTS

The public health implications of direct and indirect potable use of recov-

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

ered water have been studied at a number of sites. These include studies of direct potable reuse in Windhoek, Namibia (the only city in the world with a direct potable reuse facility) and Denver, Colorado (where direct reuse was studied extensively but not adopted); studies of indirect potable reuse via surface sources at San Diego, California, and Tampa, Florida; and studies of indirect reuse via injection in Los Angeles. These studies review varying combinations of chemical characterization of source water, toxicological testing of source water, and epidemiological studies of populations using the recovered water. Most focus on chemical constituents, so limited information is available on impacts from microorganisms.

The major activities that have been conducted to evaluate the health-related aspects of using recovered recharge water were conducted during the period 1975 to 1987 in California, where there is significant potential for reuse. In 1975, the State of California established a Consulting Panel on Health Aspects of Waste Water Reclamation for Groundwater Recharge to recommend a program of research that would assist in the establishment of criteria for ground water recharge to augment public water supplies and help develop programs of reclamation consistent with these criteria. In its report (State of California, 1987), the panel confined its discussions to ground water recharge by surface spreading and concluded that uncertainties exist regarding health effects from the use of reclaimed water primarily due to stable organic materials. To address the uncertainties, the panel recommended that comprehensive studies on health effects of ground water recharge be initiated at existing projects and new demonstration projects. Research was recommended for contaminant characterization, toxicology, and epidemiological studies of exposed populations.

OLAC Water Reuse Study-Montebello Forebay, Los Angeles County, California

In 1978, six water supply and wastewater agencies in Orange and Los Angeles counties organized the OLAC Water Reuse Study. One of the activities of the study was the initiation of a 5-year epidemiological Health Effects Study, guided by the consulting panel's recommendations, which was published (Nellor et al., 1984).

The Health Effects Study was conducted at the Whittier Narrows Ground Water Replenishment Project, located in the Montebello Forebay area of Los Angeles County, where disinfected filtered secondary effluent, stormwater runoff, and imported river water have been used for replenishment since 1962. The study was designed to develop a database that would enable health and regulatory authorities to determine whether the use of reclaimed water for ground water replenishment at the project should be maintained or modified. The research included toxicological studies of ground water, reclaimed water, and other

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

replenishment water supplies to isolate and identify health significant organic constituents, and epidemiological studies of populations ingesting recovered water to determine if their health characteristics differed significantly from those of a demographically similar control population (i.e., a geographical comparison study).

The results of the studies did not demonstrate any measurable adverse impacts on the area's ground water or the health of the population ingesting this water. Specifically, a 1981 household health survey of women residing in the Montebello Forebay study area showed no elevated levels of specific illnesses or other differences in general health. The study was controlled for the potential confounding effects of factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, bottled water usage, and length of residence. In addition, based on an evaluation of health and vital statistics data for the period from 1969 to 1980, it was reported that residents of the area that received recovered water experienced no increased rates of infectious diseases, congenital malformations, infant and neonatal mortality, low birth weight, cancer incidence, or death due to heart disease, stroke, stomach cancer, rectal cancer, bladder cancer, colon cancer, or all cancers combined, when compared with residents of two control areas that did not receive recovered water.

Concentrated organic residues derived from all replenishment sources and ground waters elicited mutagenic responses in the Ames Salmonella Microsome Mutagen Assey that were related to the presence of a mixture of toxic organic compounds. Chemical and biological assays indicated that low levels of compounds belonging to the two classes of organic halides and epoxides may have contributed to the mutagenicity. The mutagenicity of whole-sample residues was not accounted for. The overall analysis identified approximately 10 percent of the total organic carbon, and the data were not adequate to judge whether or not the majority of compounds present and of greatest health concern were identified. A mammalian cell transformation assay was also used; however, the assay was complicated by problems with fungal contamination and limited number of samples. The mutagenic response of the recovered water samples fell between the surface runoff and imported river water assay values. The limited number of samples from each site and the complexity of the percolation process and aquifer systems precluded a more rigorous statistical analysis of the correlations between the mutagenic response data and the sample sites.

The merits and limitations of the report on the Health Effects Study were analyzed by the Scientific Advisory Panel for Groundwater Recharge and used to prepare the Panel's guidelines (State of California, 1987). Overall, state-of-the-art procedures were used for characterization of the water samples. For inorganics, the water quality data for ground water and recovered source samples were summarized and compared with the existing drinking water standards. Traditional chemical evaluations were performed on water samples in each of four study sites. In general, all sampling well sites showed values within primary

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

drinking water standards; 3 of the 10 Montebello Forebay wells had samples exceeding secondary standards for iron and manganese.

For organic chemicals, the data suggested that a group of nontargeted organics (phthalates, solvents, petroleum by-products) may be more useful markers of future impacts of recovered water than the targeted organics because of their greater concentration in recovered water. Data also suggested that industrial solvents could be used to monitor future impacts of replenishment with reclaimed water. Certain compound groups (phthalates, chlorinated phenols, s-triazine herbicides, phenylacetic acid) may be useful indicators of impacts from replenishment by waters other than reclaimed water. Overall, the data established that ground water in the study sites is currently contaminated with a variety of organic compounds of industrial, and perhaps treatment, origin.

The panel raised the issue of whether Ames mutagenicity assay data are adequate in the absence of other toxicological information to serve as a basis for risk assessment. There was some consensus that the conventional rodent studies would be needed but no clear consensus as to how such studies could or should be carried out with water samples or water sample residues.

Overall, this committee, the National Research Council's Committee on Ground Water Recharge, supports the panel's view that the demographic comparison studies are useful in demonstrating the feasibility of this hypothesis and enabling a rapid assessment of potential threats to public health by using available morbidity, mortality and census information originally collected for other purposes. There is, however, a deficiency because exposure and outcome data describe characteristics of groups, and not individuals. Information is not available on potential confounding factors. The sensitivity of the studies on cancer and chronic disease rates to detect effects of recovered water is severely weakened by the short time period between first exposure to recovered water and the time of the study, especially when compared with the long latency period typically involved (15 years and more) between first exposure and cancer diagnosis and the high in-migration rates in the study area. As for the toxicological data, the present review finds that the Ames data constitute only a very small part of the full toxicological characterization that is needed and, therefore, are not adequate to support a risk assessment of the source water.

Total Resource Recovery Project, City of San Diego, California

The City of San Diego, which imports its water supply from other parts of the state, is projecting a need for additional water for the next decade (Western Consortium for Public Health, 1992). The city is investigating advanced treatment technologies for use of potential new sources—among which is the local municipal wastewater. A 5-year Health Effects Study was conducted for the City of San Diego to investigate whether a proposed wastewater treatment scheme can reliably reduce contaminants of concern to levels such that the health

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

risks to the population are not-greater than those associated with the present water supply (Western Consortium for Public Health, 1992). In this study, the risks associated with using the Miramar raw water supply and with the effluent generated from the advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) plant were compared.

When compared with other raw water supplies sampled throughout the United States, concentrations of metals and of the majority of organic constituents detected in AWT and Miramar waters were either in the lower portion of or below the range of averages. The same findings were reported for the local raw wastewater except that values for butylbenzyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate, and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate exceeded the U.S. range. Testing of organic extracts of water in the Ames assay, micronucleus test, 6-thioquanine resistance assay, and cell transformation assay indicated that the AWT water appeared to show less genotoxic or mutagenic activity than the low levels observed in the Miramar water.

An epidemiological study was conducted, which included analysis of the vital statistics of San Diego County women interviewed from 1987 to 1989, and a neural tube defect survey using data from 1978 to 1985 to establish prevalence rates in California and San Diego.

No significant difference for the two areas was found when the annual prevalence-at-birth rates for selected defects (anencephalus and spina bifida combined) were estimated. The study also included characterization of the reproductive health of the women but the results were not reported.

A risk assessment was performed for all compounds whose reference doses (RfD) and/or unit risk values were available in the EPA's Integrated Risk Information System database. These include arsenic, barium, boron, manganese, bromodichloromethane, bromoform, benzoic acid, benzyl butyl phthalate, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, chloroform, dibromochloromethane, toluene, and trichlorofluoromethane. For carcinogens, the overall mean estimate of lifetime risk from consuming Miramar water at 21/day is about 3 in 10,000. Dermal and inhalation absorption resulted in a risk of 1.6 in 10,000. About 98 to 99 percent of this risk is derived from arsenic, and the remaining percentage from trihalomethanes (THMs), which contributed a risk of less than 1 in 100,000. The concentrations of arsenic and THMs in Miramar water are approximately 2 and 10 percent of the drinking water standards, respectively. The mean cancer risk estimate for Miramar water would be 0.9 in 10,000 when the uncertainty is removed by treating the cancer potency value as a point estimate. The cancer risk estimates for the AWT water were 4.8 × 10-7 for dermal, inhalation, and drinking exposures and 8.2 × 10-7 for drinking only.

For noncarcinogens, the hazard index method was used. The chemicals included bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, boron, manganese, and toluene in AWT water and barium, benzyl butyl phthalate, benzoic acid, bromoform, bromodichoromethane, chloroform, dibromochloromethane, manganese, toluene, and trichlorofluoromethane in Miramar water. The hazard indices were 0.077

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

for AWT and 0.051 for Miramar water. Therefore these chemicals are not anticipated to present a significant health risk.

Tampa Water Resource Recovery Pilot Project, Tampa, Florida

In another study, Florida and the West Coast Regional Water Supply Authority (WCRWSA) investigated the potential indirect reuse of treated AWT effluent generated at the City of Tampa Hookers Point Facility. Toxicological testing was performed on product water produced from a pilot plant (treated municipal wastewater plus filtration) and reference water (treated municipal wastewater). The studies included the following: Ames test, sister chromatid exchange and micronuclei analysis for genotoxicity, 90-day subchronic garage studies in mice and rats, induction of Strain A lung adenoma, reproductive study in mice and teratological study in rats, and mouse (sencar) skin initiation-promotion study (J. Doull and J. Borzelleca, personal communication, 1992; Pickard et al., undated). The results of these studies were negative. Analytical chemistry results showed that the quality of the pilot plant effluent is as good or better than other sources of raw water such as the reference River water. The pilot plant effluent meets current and proposed EPA drinking water standards and the World Health Organization's guidelines for drinking water quality.

Potable Water Reuse Demonstration Project, Denver, Colorado

The Comprehensive Health Effects Testing Program for the Denver Water Department's Potable Water Reuse Demonstration Project was designed to evaluate the relative health effects of two water types: one was highly treated (including lime precipitation, activated carbon filtration, reverse osmosis, and various filtration and disinfection steps) recovered water derived from secondary treated wastewater and the other was Denver's drinking water (Lauer et al., 1990). The protocol provided for comparative testing of concentrates from Denver's drinking water (from the Foothills Water Treatment Plant), reuse demonstration plant effluent, and reuse demonstration plant effluent treated with ultrafiltration instead of reverse osmosis.

In a 104-week chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity study in Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice, samples were given at 150 or 500 times the original concentration in drinking water ad libitum. No treatment-related lesions or neoplasms were observed in the animals. In a reproductive/teratology study, rats were administered the test material. No treatment-related effects on reproductive performance, growth, mating capacity, survival of offspring, or fetal development in the animals were found.

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×
Analysis of existing data base

Summary information pertinent to the key health effects studies is displayed in Table 4.1. In each of these studies, efforts were made to ascertain any undesirable toxicological effects of recharging ground water with waters of impaired quality. All of the studies employed state-of-the-art methodologies to measure toxicological effects and to determine the identities of inorganic and organic chemical components. In some studies, additional experimentation was directed at measuring whole-sample mutagenicity and/or the mutagenicity of the fraction of the organic content that was not identifiable. Overall, no significant toxicological properties were found, although methodological limitations in all cases prevent interpretation of this result as indicating that no health effects are associated with human consumption of recovered water from impaired-quality sources.

As is the case with any ''not detectable" result in analytical chemistry, when "no observed effect" is found in toxicological and epidemiological studies, that term must be defined. The question is, what is the most sensitive health effect that could have been detected by the methodology employed? Unfortunately, this is a more difficult question for the methods of toxicology and epidemiology than for the methods of analytical chemistry. For example, the Ames Salmonella Microsome Mutagen Assay, in the absence of other toxicological data, is not an adequate basis for the estimation of risk. Conventional animal studies, conducted for a measurable health outcome, would be preferable to complete the spectrum of toxicological testing. Single-chemical and simple in vitro toxicological evaluations are not likely to be responsive to the question of whether the aggregate organic substances in the recovered water would cause any meaningful risk to populations receiving them.

For these reasons, broader evaluation strategies are necessary to estimate health risk. Confidence is gained in the analytical chemistry if one or more target organic molecules of unquestionable health risk are spiked into the sample as external standards, and compounds subject to compliance are specifically examined. Using additional in vitro tests (micronucleus test, 6-thioquanine resistance assay, cell transformation assay) may not be as helpful. Comparing the recharge water with existing or currently acceptable water in terms of genotoxicity evaluation can be helpful. In the San Diego study, for example, AWT effluent showed lower genotoxic or mutagenic activity in the above in vitro tests than the raw water supply. Geographical comparisons can be effective in demonstrating the feasibility of the hypothesis and enabling a rapid assessment of potential threats to public health by using available morbidity, mortality, and census information. The deficiency in these techniques is that exposure and outcome data describe characteristics of groups, not of individuals. A causal relationship is difficult to establish using this method.

To date, the application of state-of-the-art methodology for chemical and limited toxicological analysis has failed to show that professionally managed

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

ground water recharge programs produce extracted water of a lower quality from a health perspective than water from other historically acceptable water sources. But without a complete organic chemical analysis and sufficient animal testing necessary to detect the chemicals and health effects it is impossible to be certain that these waters are suitable or will remain so. In other words, we have reached a point where problems are "not detectable" or "not observable" but we are unable with present data (considering costs) to give any finer meaning to this statement. The Scientific Advisory Panel on Groundwater Recharge (State of California, 1987), as previously discussed, recognized this point and offered several recommendations and criteria for the conduct of future recharge evaluation studies that remain valid today:

  • Prospective health surveillance of populations, at least initially, should be part of any project proposing to use reclaimed wastewater to recharge ground water.

  • Analysis should emphasize tests of concentrates to determine whether likely harmful substances are present at low levels.

  • Single-chemical and simple in vitro toxicological evaluations are not likely to be responsive to the question of whether the aggregate organic substances in recovered water would cause any meaningful risk to populations receiving them. A reasonable assessment can be addressed only by whole animal tests on mixture concentrates and by retrospective surveillance of population. State-of-the-art toxicological studies in animals provide the only recognized methods for evaluating risk prior to human exposure.

  • Chemical analysis and monitoring should be continued on reclaimed wastewater as well as extracted ground water to ensure that concentrations of key identified substances, such as those with drinking water standards, are not exceeded and that any other biologically active chemicals are identified.

  • The state of the art of chemical and biological monitoring, toxicology, treatment technology, and epidemiology should be reviewed periodically and appropriate adjustments made in project monitoring and operation.

CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF CONCERN

Inorganic Chemicals, Pesticides, and Other Organic Chemicals in Source Waters

Chemicals typically found in irrigation return flow and stormwater runoff were summarized in Table 2.23 in Chapter 2. Table 4.2 presents the concentration ranges of the chemicals identified compared to U.S. drinking water standards (maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs) or other guidance levels (e.g., health advisories), and information on the potential health effects associated with these chemicals. In addition, the concentrations of chemicals found in

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.1 Summary of Existing Health Effects Studies

 

Types of Water Studied

Chemical Analysis

Health Effects Data

Montebello Forebay, Los Angeles County, California (Nellor, et al., 1984)

Disinfected filtered secondary effluent, storm runoff, and imported river water used for replenishment. Also recovered ground water.

Inorganics and organics. Only 10% of total organic carbons identified. Chemical values were within primary drinking water standards.

Epidemiology: In the geographical comparison study, population ingesting recovered water did not demonstrate any measurable adverse health impact.

Household survey (women): No elevated levels of specific Illnesses or other measures of general health.

Toxicological testing: Concentrated organic residues from all replenishment sources and ground waler. Positive mutagenic responses in the Ames assay.

Total Resource Recovery Project, City of San Diego, California (Western Consortium for Public Health, 1992)

Advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) effluent, Miramar raw water supply (current drinking water supply).

Inorganics and organics. Concentrations of metals and majority of organics were either in the lower portion of or below the range of averages of other raw water supplies sampled throughout the United States

Epidemiology: Reproductive health and vital statistics. Results nol yet reporled.

Neural lube defects study: No significant effect. No health risk from chemicals identified based on use of reference doses and cancer potencies.

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

 

Types of Water Studied

Chemical Analysis

Health Effects Data

Tampa Water Resource Recovery Pilot Project, Tampa, Florida (Pickard et al., undated; Doull and Borzelleca, 1992)

Product water (granular activated carbon) from pilot plant. Reference water treated effluent from AWT plant.

Pilot plant effluent met EPA primary drinking water standards and World Health Organization's guidelines for drinking water quality.

Toxicological testing: Ames assay, sister chromatid exchange, micronuclei; 90-day gavage studies in mice and rats; strain A lung adenoma induction; mouse reproductive study; rat teratology study; mouse skin initiation-promotion study. All studies showed negative responses,

Potable Water Reuse Demonstration Project, Denver, Colorado (Lauer et al., 1990)

Concentrates from Denver's drinking water, highly treated recovered water (reuse demonstration plant effluent and reuse demonstration plant effluent treated with ultrafiltration instead of reverse osmosis).

Inorganic constituents within U.S. drinking water standards. Standards do not exist for some chemicals found.

Toxicological testing: 2-year chronic/carcinogenicity study in rats and mice Rat reproductive/teratology study. No treatment-related effects observed.

Note: See original reports for more detailed information.

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.2 Health Effects of Chemicals Identified in Irrigation Return Flow and Urban Stormwater Runoff

Chemicala

Health Effectsb

Carcinogen Classificationc

Concentrationd µg/l

Maximum Contaminant Levele µg/l (10-6 cancer risk)

Reference Dosef mg/kg/day

Human

Animal/In Vitro

Terbacll (I)

 

Increased relative liver weights

E

10-110

90 (lifetime HA)

0.013

Atrazine

 

Decreased body weight gain

C

< 10-1,000

3

0.035

Chlorothalonil (I)

 

Renal tubular vacuolization

B2

0.04.037

500 (DWEL, HA) (1.5)

0.015

Nitrate (as N) (I)

Mothemoglobinemia

Reproductive toxicity

 

Up to 200,000 (I) 500-10,000 (U)

10,000

1.6

Uranium (I)

Nephritis

 

A

Up to 300

20 (0.7)

 

Boron (I)

 

Teatitular atrophy, spermatogenic arrest

D

190-28,000 (I)

 

0.08

Lindane (U)

 

Morphological changes of kidney and liver cells

C

0.1

0.2

0.0003

Endrin (U)

 

Liver lesions (mild): occasional convulsion

D

0.1

2

0.0003

Chlordane (U)

 

Liver hypertrophy (regional)

B2

0.2 (0.03)

0.00006

Methoxyclor (U)

 

Reproductive effect (litter loss)

D

1-10

40

0,005

Benzene (U)

CNS and bone marrow depression; leukemis, anemia; effects on heart, liver, adrenal gland

 

A

5 (1)

Toluene (U)

CNS and bona marrow depression; anemia; effects on heart, liver, adrenal glan

Changes in liver and kidney weights; reproductive effect

D

1,000

0.2

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

Chemicala

Health Effectsb

Carcinogen Classificationc

Concentrationd µg/l

Maximum Contaminant Levele µg/l (10-6 cancer risk)

Reference Dosef mg/kg/day   

Human

Animal/In Vitro

1.2-Dichloroethane (U)

 

Pathological changes in lung, heart, liver, kidney, adrenal gland

B2

5

 

 

 

 

 

(0.4)

 

Ethylbenzene (U)

 

Liver and kidney toxicity

D

700

0.1

Tetrachloroethylene (U)

 

Hepatotoxcity (ingressed relative liver and kidney weights, depressed body weight)

 

5

0.01

Pentachlorophenol (U)

 

Liver and kidney pathology, feto-maternal toxicity

B2

Up to 100

1

0.03

 

 

 

 

 

(0.3)

 

Polychlorinatad biphenyls (PCBs) (U)

Chloracne; lymphold gland atrophy; immunological effects

 

B2

0.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

(0.005)

 

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (U)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Benzo(a)pyrene

 

 

B2

0.2

 

Fluoranthrene

 

Nephropathy; increased liver weight; hematologic alterations; clinical effects (increased SGPT levels)

 

 

(5)

0.04

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No observed affects

D

0.3

Phthalates, di-n-butyl (U)

 

Increased mortality

 

50

0.1

Antimony (U)

Gastrointestinal effects

Liver and kidney effects

D

25

6

0.0004

Chromium (U)

Renal tubular negrosis

Gangtoxicity

D

1-200(U)

100

0.005

Arsenic (I) (U)

Skin (hyperplgmentation, karatesis); vascular complications; naurotoxicity; liver injury

Reproductive/developmental effects; chromosomal effects

A

Max. 50 (U)

50

0.0003

 

 

 

 

Avg. I

(0.000002)g

 

 

 

 

 

1-190 (I)

 

 

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

Chemicala

Health Effectsb

Carcinogen Classificationc

Concentrationd µg/l

Maximum Contaminant Levele µg/l (10-6 cancer risk)

Reference Dosef mg/kg/day

Human

Animal/In Vitro

Beryllium (U)

Contact dermatitis; pulmonary effects

Skeletal effects; genotoxicity

B2

Max. 50

4 (0.008)

0.005

Cadmium (U)

Pulmonary and renal tubular effects; skeletal changes associated with effects on calcium metabolism

Reproductive/teratogenlo effects; effect on myocardium

D

1-15 (U)

5

0.0005

Selenium (I) (U)

Nail changes; Hair loss; Skin teslons; nervous system effects

Reproductive effects; genotoxicity

 

Up to 300 (I) Mex. 100 (U)

50

0.005

Zinc (U)

Gastrointestinal distress; diarrhea

Poor growth

D

200(can be 1,000 from galvanized metal processing)

0.3

Mercury (U)

Nervous system effects; kidney effects

Genotoxicity

D

Max. 1

2

0.0003

Nickel (U)

Contact dermatitis

Reproductive effects; genotoxicity

D

Up to 200 Avg. <100

100

0,005

Cyanide (U)

Nauaea, confusion, convulsion, paralysis, coma, cardiac arrhythmia, respiratory stimulation followed by respiratory failure

 

D

Up to 300

200

0.022

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

a For consistency, these are listed in the order in which they appeared in Table 2.23. 1 = irrigation return flow and U = urban stormwater. See Table 2.23 and the discussion in Chapter 2 for background information on chemicals In this table.

b U.S. EPA, 1892, 1993e, 1993b; Amdur et. al, 1991; Friberg et. al., 1986; Fishbein et. al., 1987 The inclusion of the health effects information is not meant to be comprehensive. Instead, the primary end point of concern, the endpoint on which the drinking water standard is based, and readily available information are presented.

c EPA carcinogen classifications (U.S. EPA, 1993a, 1993b). A = sufficient evidence for humans; B1 = limited evidence for humans and sufficient evidence in experimental animals; B2 = inadequate/limited evidence for humans, but sufficient evidence in experimental animals; C = limited evidence in experimental animals with no human data; D = inadequate or no data; E = sufficient evidence of noncarcinogenicity.

d See Table 2.23 end the discussion in Chapter 2 for background information on reported concentrations.

e Maximum contaminant levels established by EPA as drinking water standards for chemicals. Where no MCL has been established for a chemical, the health advisory (HA) level (lifetime or drinking water equivalent level (DWEL)) is provided. The level in drinking water corresponding to a cancer risk of 1 in 1 million is shown within parentheses. (U.S. EPA, 1993a, 1993b).

f Reference dose = estimated doses for a daily exposure (expressed as milligrams of chemical per kilogram of body weight per day) that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime (U.S. EPA, 1993a, 1993b).

g OEHHA, 1992. Recommended public health level for arsenic in drinking water. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Berkeley, California.

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

various treated municipal wastewaters are shown in Tables 4.3, 4.4, and 4.5, and compared to MCLs and reference doses. The typical organic pollutants identified in activated sludge secondary effluent (which is the influent to Orange County Water District's Water Factory 21) are shown in Table 4.3, while typical chemicals in secondary-treated municipal wastewater are shown in Table 4.4, and chemicals found in activated-sludge treated secondary effluent from the City of Phoenix's 23rd Avenue Plant are shown in Table 4.5. The chemical concentrations were tabulated from information in Chapter 2. These concentrations and their possible health effects are useful in providing perspective on source waters and the constituents in them that might have a negative impact on human health.

The chemical monitoring data on irrigation return flow and stormwater run-off in Table 4.2 show that the highest concentrations detected exceeded the MCLs for atrazine, nitrate, lindane, uranium, pentachlorophenol, chromium, arsenic, beryllium, and lead. The concentrations for chlorothalonil, arsenic, beryllium, and pentachlorophenol exceeded the levels corresponding to a 1 in 1 million (1 × 10-6) cancer risk. When the MCLs are exceeded, the reference doses are also exceeded, except for atrazine and beryllium. No MCL has been established for boron, but based on the consumption of 2 liters of water by a 70-kg person at the highest level detected, the reference dose for boron is exceeded.

For the chemicals found in secondary treated municipal wastewaters shown in Table 4.4, the inorganic chemicals boron, cadmium, lead, molybdenum, mercury, and nickel exceeded the drinking water standard or MCLs. Similarly, the organic chemicals in Tables 4.3 and 4.5 were all within limits specified by the MCLs.

Although various inorganic and organic chemicals can clearly be identified in wastewaters that have been or might be used for recharging ground waters, additional treatment prior to recharge will reduce the concentrations of many of these substances, as will soil-aquifer treatment and conventional potable water treatment at the point of extraction. Thus the actual risks to human health will undoubtedly be considerably lower than those implied by the tables. Therefore, the recharge of ground waters with waters of impaired quality is not likely to present unacceptable risks from these inorganic and organic chemical constituents when the extracted water is used for human consumption. However, at the same time the data indicate that some potential source waters have higher concentrations of chemicals of potential health concern than others. Thus, the choice of source water and decisions on monitoring recharged aquifers and the extracted water should take into account the presence of these trace inorganic and organic chemicals and their possible health impacts.

Disinfectants and Disinfection By-Products

One health concern connected with the use of recharge water arises from the use of disinfectants and the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs), which

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.3 Typical Organic Priority Pollutants in Activated Sludge. Secondary Effluent from the County Sanitation Districts of Orange County, California

 

Secondary Effluent Concentration(µg/l)

Maximum Contaminant Levela (µg/l (10-6 cancer risk)

Carcinogen Classificationb

Reference Dosec (mg/kg/day)

Chloroform

3.5

100 (0.006)

B2

0.01

Bromodichloromethane

0.46

100 (0.0006)

B2

0.02

Dibromochloromethane

0.71

100 (0.004)

C

0.02

Bromoform

0.46

100 (0.004)

B2

0.02

1,1,1-Trichloroethane

4.8

7 (HA) (0.004)

C

0.03

Trichloroethylene

1.1

5 (0.0003)

B2

Tetrachloroethylene

3.6

5

0.01

Carbon tetrachloride

0.05

5 (0.0003)

B2

0.0007

Chlorobenzene

0.13

__

1,3-Dichlorobenzene

0.25

600

D

0.09

1,4-Dichlorobenzene

1.9

600

D

0.09

1,2-Dichlorobenzene

0.74

75

C

0.1

1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene

0.31

70

D

0.1

Naphthalene

0.11

20 (HA)

D

0.004

Ethylbenzene

0.04

700

D

0.1

2,4-Dichlorophenol

0.16

20 (HA)

D

0.003

2,4,6-Trichlorophenol

0.13

— (0.003)

B2

Pentachlorophenol

1.23

1 (0.0003)

B2

0.03

PCB (Arochlor 1242)

0.4

0.5 (0.000005)

B2

Lindane

0.11

0.2

C

0.0003

DDT

0.01

Di-n-butyl phthalate

0.94

Diethyl phthalate

1.14

5,000 (HA)

D

0.8

Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate

11

B2

Isophorone

0.3

100 (HA) (0.04)

C

0.2

a Maximum contaminant levels established by EPA as drinking water standards for chemicals. Where no MCL has been established for a chemical, the health advisory (HA) level (lifetime or DWEL) is provided. The level in drinking water corresponding to a cancer risk of 1 in 1 million is shown in parentheses (U.S. EPA, 1993b).

b EPA carcinogen classification (U.S. EPA, 1993a, 1993b): B2 = inadequate/limited evidence for humans, but sufficient evidence in experimental animals; C = limited evidence in experimental animals with no human data; D = inadequate or no data.

c Reference dose = estimated doses for a daily exposure (expressed as milligrams of chemical per kilogram of body weight per day) that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime (U.S. EPA, 1993a and b).

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.4 Typical Chemicals in Secondary-Treated Municipal Wastewater

 

Concentration (µg/l)

Maximum Contaminant Levela µg/L (10-6 cancer risk)

Carcinogen Classificationb

Reference Dosec (mg/kg/day)

Nitrate

400-30,000

45,000

 

Arsenic

5-23

50 (000002)

A

Boron

300-2,500

600 (HA)

D

0.09

Cadmium

5-220

5

D

0.0005

Chromium

1-100

100

D

0.005

Copper

6-53

1,300 (AL)

D

Lead

3-350

15 (AL)

B2

Molybdenum

1-18

40 (HA)

D

0.005

Mercury

2-10

2

D

0.0003

Nickel

3-600

100

D

0.02

Zinc

4-350

2,000 (HA)

D

0.3

a Maximum contaminant levels established by EPA as drinking water standards for chemicals. AL = Action Level. Where no MCL has been established for a chemical, the health advisory (HA) level (lifetime or DWEL) is provided. The level in drinking water corresponding to a cancer risk of 1 in 1 million is shown in parentheses (U.S. EPA, 1 993b).

b EPA carcinogen classification (U.S. EPA, 1993a, 1993b): B2 = inadequate/limited evidence for humans, but sufficient evidence in experimental animals; D = inadequate or no data.

c Reference dose = estimated doses for a daily exposure (expressed as milligrams of chemical per kilogram of body weight per day) that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime (U.S. EPA, 1993a and b).

can result in chemical-related cancer. The various types of disinfectants that currently are used and their by-products are described in Chapter 2. An overview of the health effects of these disinfectants and by-products is discussed in detail in Bull and Kopfler (1991), and the estimated carcinogenic risks of these chemicals are summarized in Table 4.6.

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are one of the by-products of chlorination. The major THMs are chloroform, bromodichloromethane, chlorodibromomethane, and bromoform. These have been evaluated by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (1987, 1991) and U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (1986) as having varying degrees of evidence of carcinogenicity in animals and humans.

Disinfectants or DBPs that have been determined by IARC or EPA to be carcinogenic in animals are 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, bromate (potassium), and bromoform (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1987, 1991; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1986). Dichloroacetic acid and trichloroacetic acid have been shown to induce liver tumors in

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

B6C3F1 mice (Parnell et al., 1986; Herren-Freund et al., 1987). In addition, five mutagenic derivatives of a trichlorinated hydroxyfuranone (MX) have been identified as chlorinated by-products. These have been shown to be extremely potent mutagens in the Ames assay, although they are present in small concentrations. MX has been named 3-chloro-4-(dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2 named (5H)-furanone since the compound forms a furanone ring at pH below 5.3. However, at the pH of drinking water and under the neutral conditions of the Ames assay, MX exists in a ring-opened form. In referring to chemistry in neutral water solutions and mutagenicity of MX, MX should be regarded as an oxobutenoic acid, or (z)-2-chloro-3-(dichloromethyl)-4-oxobutenoic acid) (Kronberg et al., 1991).

MICROORGANISMS OF CONCERN

Hundreds of different types of pathogenic microorganisms (i.e., bacteria, viruses, and parasites) are excreted in the fecal material of infected hosts and these can find their way into municipal wastewater (Rao and Melnick, 1986; Straub et. al., 1993). The number and types of pathogenic microorganisms present in wastewater vary by location and over time at a given location. A variety of factors influence the pathogen content of wastewater, including the incidence of disease in the population producing the wastewater, the season of year, the economic status of the population, water use patterns, and the quality of the potable water supply (Rose and Carnahan, 1992). Diseases caused by waterborne microorganisms range from mild gastroenteritis to severe illnesses such as infectious hepatitis, cholera, typhoid, and meningitis. Because of the great variety of factors involved, risk assessments conducted for microorganisms are complicated; a discussion of the issues involved in such assessments follows.

Hazard Identification

The microorganisms of concern when using wastewater to artificially recharge ground water can be identified using data available from past waterborne disease outbreaks. Table 4.7 lists the microorganisms that have been identified as causative agents of waterborne disease in the United States from 1971 through 1990. These outbreaks were associated with a variety of types of water systems—large systems, community systems, small systems, and individual systems—not necessarily parallel to the large systems commonly associated with recharge operations. This information is helpful, however, in identifying the possible range of the microbial hazard. The most commonly identified causative agents were Giardia, chemical poisoning, and Shigella species. Giardia lamblia caused over 18 percent of the illness associated with waterborne disease outbreaks. Enteric viruses (viral gastroenteritis and hepatitis A) were identified as the causative agents of disease in 8.7 percent of the outbreaks during this period.

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.5 Typical Chemicals in Activated-Sludge-Treated Secondary Effluent from the City of Phoenix's 23rd Avenue Treatment Plant

 

Geometric Mean Concentration of Secondary Effluent (µg/L)

Maximum Contaminant Levela (µg/l) (10-6 cancer risk)

Carcinogenb Classification

Reference Dosec (mg/kg/day)

 

Without Chlorination (27 samples)

With Chlorination (27 samples)

Aliphatic hydrocarbons

 

 

 

 

 

5-(2-Methylpropyl) nonanes

0.35

0.57

2,2,3,-Trimethylhexane

0.11

0.18

6-Methyl-5-nonen-4-one

0.41

0.94

2,2,3-Trimethylnonane

0.21

0.25

2,3,7-Trimethyloctane

0. 12

0.27

Aromatic hydrocarbons

 

 

 

 

 

o-Xylene

0.45

0.5

10,000

D

2

m-Xylene

0.76

1

10,000

D

2

p-Xylene

0.17

0.12

10,000

D

2

C3-benzene isomer

0.56

0.34

C3-benzene isomer

0.48

0.53

Styrene

0.26

0.58

100

C

1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene

0.8

1.04

Ethylbenzene

0.19

0.15

700

D

0.1

Naphthalene

0.22

0.63

20 (HA)

D

0.004

Phenanthrene

0.1

0.1

Diethyl phthalate

19

10

5,000 (HA)

D

0.8

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

 

Geometric Mean Concentration of Secondary Effluent (µg/L)

Maximum Contaminant Levela (µg/l) (10-6 cancer risk)

Carcinogenb Classification

Reference Dosec (mg/kg/day)

 

Without Chlorination (27 samples)

With Chlorination (27 samples)

Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons

 

 

 

 

 

Chloroform

2.72

3.46 (0.006)

100

B2

0.01

1,l,1-Trichloroethane

2.94

1.41 (0.001)

7 (HA)

C

0.03

Carbon tetrachloride

0.12

0.12 (0.0003)

5

B2

0.0007

Bromodichloromethane

Not detected

0.26 (0.0006)

100

B2

0.02

Trichloroethylene

0.91

0.39 (0.003)

5

B2

Dibromochloromethane

Not detected

0.23 (0.004)

100

C

0.02

Tetrachloromethane

2.63

1.69 (0.003)

5

B2

Bromoform

Not detected

0.08 (0.004)

100

B2

0.02

Chlorinated aromatics

 

 

 

 

 

o-Dichlorobenzene

3.52

2.4

600

D

0.09

m-Dichlobenzene

0.79

0.38

600

D

0.09

p-Dichlobenzene

2.25

1.81

75

C

0.1

1,2,4-Triehlorobenzene

0.19

0.38

70

D

0.01

Trichlorophenol

0.01

0.02

— (0.003)

B2

Pentachlorophenol

0.02

0.04

1 (0.0003)

B2

0.03

Pentachloroanisole

0.43

0.18

a Maximum contaminant levels established by EPA as drinking water standards for chemicals. AL = Action Level. Where no MCL has been established for a chemical, the health advisory (HA) level (lifetime) is provided. The level in drinking water corresponding to a cancer risk of 1 in 1 million is shown in parentheses (U.S. EPA, 1993b).

b EPA carcinogen classification (U.S. EPA, 1993a, 1993b): B2 = inadequate/limited evidence for humans, but sufficient evidence in experimental animals; D = inadequate or no data.

c Reference dose = estimated doses for a daily exposure (expressed as milligrams of chemical per kilogram of body weight per day) that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime (U.S. EPA, 1993a and b).

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.6 Estimated Carcinogenic Risks from By-Products of Various Disinfectantsa

 

HOCI/OCI- (× 10-6)

(× 10-6)

ClO2b (× 10-6)

O3 (× 10-6)

Chloroform

0.24

0.48

No Data

0

Bromodichloromethane

0. 91

0.18

 

 

Chlorodibromomethane

0.29

0.058

 

 

Bromoform

0.054

0.011

 

0.025

Dichloroacetic acid

0.00034

0.000068

 

 

Trichloroacetic acid

54

11

 

 

Chloropicrin

0.0016

0.00032

 

 

2,4,6-Trichlorophenol

0.017

0.0034

 

 

Formaldehyde

0.54

0.11

 

3.0

Hydrogen peroxide

 

 

 

10

Bromate

 

 

 

50

Projected mean risk

56

11

 

63

a Estimates of carcinogenic risks associated with chloramine by-products were made by assuming that chlorinated by-products would form at 20 percent of the level observed with chlorine in the same supply based on the results of Amy et al., 1990.

b The maximum likelihood estimates of mean carcinogenic risks have been calculated using data from animal studies described in Bull and Kopfier (1991) and estimated mean concentrations of the by-products in supplies in which the indicated disinfectants are used. The multistage model (using the TOX-RISK program developed by Clement Associates, Inc.) was used to calculate the extra probability that an individual would contract cancer from drinking the mean concentration of the indicated byproduct for a lifetime. The projected mean risk for. each disinfectant was calculated by summing risks estimated from the mean concentrations of the carcinogenic by-products produced by that disinfectant and is expressed in extra cases per million population per lifetime. Source: Bull and Kopfler, 1991. Reprinted from Health Effects of Disinfectants and Disinfection By-Products, by permission. Copyright 1991, American Water Works Association.

In the 1980s, use of undisinfected or inadequately disinfected ground water in general was responsible for 44 percent of the waterborne disease outbreaks that occurred in the United States (Craun, 1991). For outbreaks that occurred because of the consumption of contaminated, undisinfected ground water from 1971 to 1985, sewage was most often identified as the contamination source. In ground water systems, causative agents were identified in only 38 percent of the outbreaks, with Shigella species and hepatitis A virus being the most commonly identified pathogens (Craun, 1990).

At the present time, we cannot completely identify the microbial hazard because of our inability to identify causative agents in approximately one-half of the waterborne disease outbreaks in this country. In these outbreaks, the illness was simply listed as gastroenteritis of unknown etiology. However, retrospective serological studies of outbreaks of acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis from

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.7 Causative Agents of Waterborne Disease Outbreaks, 1971 to 1990

 

Outbreaks

Illness

 

Number of Cases

Percentage of Total

Number of Cases

Percentage of Total

Gastroenteritis, unknown cause

293

49.66

67,367

47.26

Giardiasis

110

18.64

26,531

18.61

Chemical poisoning

55

9.32

3,877

2.72

Shigellosis

40

6.78

8,806

6.18

Viral gastroenteritis

27

4.58

12,699

8.91

Hepatitis A

25

4.24

762

< 1

Salmonellosis

12

2.03

2,370

1.66

Campylobacterosis

12

2.03

5,233

3.67

Typhoid fever

5

< 1

282

< 1

Yersiniosis

2

< 1

103

< 1

Crytosporidiosis

2

< 1

13,117

9.20

Chronic gastroenteritis

1

< 1

72

< 1

Toxigenic E. coli

2

< 1

1,243

< 1

Cholera

1

< 1

17

< 1

Dermatitis

1

< 1

31

< 1

Amebiasis

1

< 1

4

< 1

Cyanobacteria-like bodies

1

< 1

21

< 1

Total

564

100

138,247

100

 

Source: Craun, 1991; Herwaldt et al., 1992.

1976 through 1980 indicated that 42 percent of outbreaks where no causative agent was identified probably were caused by the Norwalk virus (Kaplan et al., 1982). Thus, the Norwalk virus may be responsible for approximately 23 percent of all reported waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States (Keswick et al., 1985).

The difficulty in the isolation of many enteric viruses from clinical and environmental samples probably accounts for the limited number of viruses identitled as causes of waterborne disease. For example, there are no standardized, routine procedures available for isolating and identifying hepatitis A and E viruses in environmental (i.e., soil and water) samples. The ability to analyze samples for Cryptosporidium is restricted to only a few laboratories. There are no methods available for culturing the Norwalk virus in the laboratory. As methods for the detection of enteric viruses and parasites have improved, the percentage of waterborne disease identified as having a vital or parasitic etiology has increased.

In addition to the hazard of acute microbial disease that results in waterborne

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

disease outbreaks, the level of endemic microbial disease associated with drinking water must be identified. In the single epidemiological study that has been conducted to determine the contribution of drinking water to endemic gastrointestinal illness, it was found that approximately one-third of the outbreaks could be the result of consuming treated drinking water that met all water quality standards and contained no pathogens detectable by current technologies (Payment et al., 1991).

It has been recognized recently that exposure to microbial pathogens in drinking water may also lead to chronic health problems such as diabetes (Gerba and Rose, 1993). This association must be further investigated so that the microbial hazard can be identified accurately.

Dose-Response Assessment

Three different responses to microbial exposure are possible: infection that remains subclinical (i.e., inapparent), infection that results in clinical illness, and infection that leads to illness and subsequent death. The response used in the dose-response determination depends on the purpose of the risk assessment. For example, in balancing the risks between pathogenic microorganisms and DBPs in water, it might be desirable to use mortality as the end point for both cases. However, other end points such as number of life-years lost or ''quality adjusted" life years lost may be used (Putnam and Graham, 1993). In the latter two cases, illness and mortality could be used in the determination.

Dose-response data on the ability of a microorganism to cause infection are generally obtained by exposing a group of animals or human volunteers to different doses of the microorganisms of interest. In the case of enteric viruses, human volunteers must be used because animals are not infected by the viruses of interest. Infection is determined directly by detecting the microorganisms in the fecal material or other bodily fluids, or indirectly by detecting an antibody response to the microorganism. The infective dose of several enteric microorganisms is shown in Table 4.8.

These experimentally obtained dose-response data have been analyzed to determine whether mathematical models can be used to describe them. Several models are available for describing dose-response relationships. Two models, the simple exponential and the modified exponential (β), have generally been used to model the response of humans to enteric pathogens (Haas, 1983; Regli et al., 1991). The experimental data are fit to a particular model, enabling one to determine the value of the constants in the model. Once the values of the constants are known, the probability of infection from ingestion of any number of microorganisms can be calculated.

When morbidity or mortality are the endpoints of interest, data are generally obtained from medical and hospital records. The relationships between infection

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.8 Values Used to Calculate Risks of Infection, Illness, and Mortality from Selected Enteric Microorganisms

 

Probability of Infection from Exposure to One Organism (per million)

Ratio of Clinical Illness to Infection (%)

Mortality Rate (%)

Secondary Spread (%)

Campylobacter

7,000

 

 

 

Salmonella typhi

380

 

 

 

Shigella

1,000

 

 

 

Vibrio cholerae

7

 

 

 

Coxsackieviruses

 

5-96

0.12-0.94

76

Echoviruses

17,000

50

0.27-0.29

40

Hepatitis A virus

 

75

0.6

78

Norwalk virus

 

 

0.0001

30

Poliovirus 1

14,900

0.1-1

0.9

90

Poliovirus 3

31.000

 

 

 

Rotavirus

310,000

28-60

0.01-0.12

 

Giardia larnblia

19,800

 

 

 

 

Source: Rose and Gerba, 1991; Gerba and Rose, 1993.

and clinical illness for several enteric viruses are shown in Table 4.8. Mortality rates for enteric viruses are also given in Table 4.8.

Dose-response data are generally obtained from studies of relatively small groups of healthy volunteers; thus they represent average or possibly best-case situations. Certain populations may be more at risk from exposure to a given dose of pathogens than others. For example, very young and very old individuals have a higher risk of severe illness and even death from exposure to pathogens than do other population groups. Individuals with suppressed immune systems may also be more susceptible to infection, illness, and death than healthy individuals. It has been estimated that 17 percent of the U.S. population may be classified as "at increased risk" for the purposes of risk calculations (C. P. Gerba, personal communication to M. Yates, 1993).

When assessing microbial risk, it is necessary to consider secondary spread. This phenomenon occurs when an individual who has been infected by consuming water containing pathogenic microorganisms transmits the infection to another individual. Secondary spread can be significant for some enteric microorganisms, as shown in Table 4.8. This phenomenon is specific to microorganisms and has no parallel in the assessment of risks from chemicals in water.

Another issue that has not been adequately addressed in the dose-response determination or the exposure assessment is that of aggregated (i.e., a group of several microorganisms stuck to one another) or solids-associated microorgan-

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

isms. Most dose-response studies are performed using laboratory-grown and purified, monodispersed pathogens. However, in the environment most enteric viruses occur as aggregated units or associated with cellular debris (Sobsey et al., 1991). During sample analysis, a virus aggregate comprising of several tens to hundreds of vital particles may be counted as only one infectious unit. Thus, the exposure to pathogens in drinking water may be higher than is reflected by analysis of a contaminated water sample.

Exposure Assessment

Assessing the exposure of an individual to pathogens in recovered water is the most difficult and uncertain aspect of the risk assessment process. Exposure to pathogens may occur by direct ingestion of or contact with the recharge water at the surface if recharge is by infiltration, or it may occur by ingestion of recovered water that has been contaminated by the recharge process. The level of exposure as well as the pathogens of concern depend on the route of exposure. For example, exposure to bacteria, viruses, and parasites is likely if reclaimed water in an infiltration basin is directly ingested. But because bacteria and parasites are generally removed to a greater extent than enteric viruses during infiltration through soil, viruses are of greater concern when dealing with exposure to recovered recharge water.

The number and types of pathogens in recovered water depend on the level of treatment the water has received. As stated earlier, the concentrations of different pathogens in raw wastewater vary among communities and over time within a given community. For instance, reported concentrations of microorganisms in raw wastewater range from zero to several hundred thousand Giardia cysts per liter, hundreds of thousands of viral particles per liter, and several tens of thousands of bacterial pathogens per liter.

Past studies on the efficacy of various wastewater treatment processes on pathogen inactivation have focused on the removal of indicator microorganisms such as total and fecal coliform bacteria, and occasionally enteroviruses such as poliovirus. In one such study, data on the efficiency of removal of enteroviruses at water reclamation plants in southern California collected during the 10-year period from 1979 to 1989 were summarized (Yanko, 1993). Table 4.9 shows the average concentration of enteroviruses detected in unchlorinated effluents (primary, secondary, and tertiary), as well as chlorinated final effluent. During the 10-year study period, a total volume of 613,639 1 of final effluent in the form of 590 samples was analyzed. Of these, only one sample was found to contain an enterovirus, coxsackievirus B3. It is important to note that the efficiency of the methods used to collect and recover the viruses averaged 41 percent.

There is little, if any, information on the concentration of several pathogens of public health significance including hepatitis A and E viruses, rotavirus, Norwalk virus, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium. A study in Florida examined the

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.9 Removal of Viruses at Six Los Angeles County, California, Treatment Plants

 

Primary Effluent

Secondary Effluent

Tertiary Effluent

Final Effluent

 

pfu

No. Positive/No. Sampled

pfu

No. Positive/No. Sampled

pfu

No. Positive/No. Sampled

Total Volume Sampled (I)

No. positive/No. sampled

Long Beach

NR

NR

NR

NR

NR

NR

74,591

0/84

Los Coyotes

NR

NR

NR

NR

NR

NR

67,668

0/74

Pomona

23,000

13/13

650

NR

57

6/12

147,774

0/124

San Jose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creek

160,000

8/8

55

NR

NR

NR

139,390

0/130

Whittier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Narrows

76,000

8/8

56

NR

NR

NR

131,986

0/124

Valencia

NR

NR

NR

NR

NR

NR

52,229

1/54

Note: NR = not reported. Pfu = Plaque-forming units per 387 liters.

Source: Yanko, 1993.

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

removal rates of enteroviruses, indicator bacteria and viruses, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and helminths in a full-scale operating wastewater treatment plant (Rose and Carnahan, 1992). Average removal for each of the organisms measured at each stage of the treatment process over a 1-year period are shown in Table 4.10.

The susceptibility of different pathogens to various disinfection processes has also been measured. Most of the information on disinfection efficiency, especially for processes other than those involving chlorination, has been obtained from drinking water treatment rather than wastewater treatment. It is uncertain whether the trends found in drinking water studies will be consistent in wastewater disinfection studies. A summary of the efficacy of various disinfection processes on removal of pathogens and indicator bacteria from drinking water is shown in Table 4.11.

To determine the exposure of an individual to pathogens in recovered water, the ingested number of each of the pathogens of concern must be known. For direct ingestion of recovered water, the only report on this topic used an exposure of 100 ml (Rose and Carnahan, 1992). The concentrations of the pathogens in this case would be the concentrations remaining after treatment of the water. In the case of ingestion of recovered water, an ingestion of 2 liters of water per day is usually assumed. The concentration of microorganisms in the ground water is more difficult to determine because it is dependent on the level of treatment prior to recharge and the removal of the various microorganisms during infiltration through the soil and aquifer; these removal rates are normally unknown.

Risk Characterization

Using the data from Table 4.8, and assuming an exposure of 2 liters per day of water containing a known concentration of pathogens, the probability of infection, illness, and death from exposure to a given microorganism can be calculated. Regli et al., (1991) compared the simple exponential and modified exponential (β) with experimental dose-response data. They found that the β model fit the echovirus 12, poliovirus 3, and rotavirus exposure data best; whereas the exponential model fit the poliovirus 1 data best. Using three different concentrations that might be found in drinking water, the annual risks of infection, disease, and mortality from exposure to hepatitis A virus and rotavirus in 2 liters of drinking water per day are shown in Figures 4.1 and 4.2, respectively.

The data on pathogen concentrations in the final effluent from one of the St. Petersburg, Florida, water reclamation plants were used to calculate the risks associated with accidental ingestion of 100 ml of the water (Rose and Carnahan, 1992). The following assumptions were used in the risk estimation: (1) the echovirus and rotavirus models were used to reflect a moderately infective and a highly infective virus (as demonstrated by dose-response data); (2) the Giardia

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.10 Average Removal of Pathogen and Indicator Microorganisms in a Wastewater Treatment Plant, St. Petersburg, Florida

 

Raw Wastewater to Secondary Wastewater

Secondary Wastewater to Postfiltration

Postfiltration to Post-Disinfection

Post-Disinfection to Poststorage

Raw Wastewater to Poststorage

 

Percentage

log10

Percentage

log10

Percentage

log10

Percentage

log10

Percentage

log10

Total coliforms (cfu/100 ml)

98.3

1.75

69.3

0.51

99.99

4.23

75.4

0.61

99.999992

7.10

Fetal coliforms (cfu/100 ml)

99.1

2.06

10.5

0.05

99.998

4.95

56.8

0.36

99.999996

7.42

Heterotrophic plate count bacteria (cfu/ml)

99.1

2.06

81.1

0.72

99.98

3.77

none

 

99.99996

6.55

Coliphage 15597 (pfu/ml)

82.1

0.75

99.98

3.81

90.5

1.03

90.3

1.03

99.99997

6.61

Coliphage C (pfu/ml)

none

 

99.94

3.20

99.7

2.49

7 1.0

0.54

99.99991

6.23

Enterovirus (pfu/100 l)

98.0

1.71

84.0

0.81

96.5

1.45

90 91

1.04

99.999

5.01

Giardia (cysts/100 l)

93.0

1.19

99.0

2.00

78.0

0.65

49.5

0.30

99.993

4.13

Cryptosporidium (oocysts/100 l)

92.8

1.14

97.9

1.68

61.1

0.41

8.5

0.04

99.95

3.26

Helminths (ova/l)

>75.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

>99.6

 

Note: cfu = colony-forming unit; pfu = plaque-forming unit. Source: Rose and Carnahan, 1992.

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.11 Inactivation of Indicator and Pathogenic Microorganisms by Various Disinfectants

 

Free Chlorine (4-5 C, pH 6-8)

 

Chloramine (5 C, pH 7-9)

 

Chlorine Dioxide   (5 C, pH 6-7)

 

Ozone (4-5 C, pH 6-8)

 

Ultraviolet Light (variable)

 

 

C • T

Inactivation (%)

C • T

Inactivation (%)

C • T

Inactivation (%)

C • T

Inactivation (%)

mW-s cm-2

Inactivation (%)

E coil

2.5

99.9

113

99

0.48

99

0.006-0.02

99

6.5

99 9

Poliovirus 1

1.1-2.5

99

1,420

99

0.2-6.7

99

0.2

99

21

99.9

Rotavirus SAI 1

0.03

99.9

4,034

99

0.2-0.3

99

0.019-0.064

99.9

25

99.9

Human rotavirus

0.03

99.9

ND

ND

ND

ND

ND

ND

0.006-0.036

99.9

Hepatitis A virus

1.8

99.99

592

99.99

1.7

99

ND

ND

ND

ND

MS2 coliphage

0.25

99.99

2,100

99.99

5. 1

99

ND

ND

ND

ND

Giardialamblia

90-170

90

ND

ND

ND

ND

0.53

99

100

99.9

Giardia murls

>150

90

1,400

99

10.7

99

1.94

99

ND

ND

Cryptosporidium

> > 1080

<95

ND

ND

ND

ND

ND

ND

ND

ND

Note: ND = no data. C • T = product of the disinfectant in milligrams per liter and contact time in minutes for 99 percent inactivation.

Source: Adapted from Bull et al., 1990; Sobsey, 1989.

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

FIGURE 4.1 Annual risk infection, disease, and mortality for hepatitis A virus in drinking water.

model was used for both Giardia and Cryptosporidium because there is no model for Cryptosporidium; (3) all cysts and oocysts were assumed to be viable and infective; and (4) concentrations in the final product (per 100 1) were calculated to levels per 100 ml and used as exposures. The calculated risks are shown in Table 4.12. The risks ranged from a high of 1.1 in 10,000 for Cryptosporidium to a low of 2 per 100 million for viruses.

Asano et al. (1992) used the β model to calculate the risk associated with exposure to viruses in ground water recharge operations. They assumed that the nearest domestic well to a recharge site could draw water that contains 50 percent recovered wastewater that has been underground for 6 months after percolating through 3 m (9.8 ft) of unsaturated soil. The rate of virus removal/ inactivation was assumed to be 0.69 per day. They also assumed that an individual consumes 2 liters of water per day for 70 years. Results of their calculations for poliovirus 1, echovirus 12, and poliovirus 3 are presented in Table 4.13. The equation used to calculate the fraction of viruses remaining after infiltration through the soil must also be carefully examined to determine its applicability to

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

FIGURE 4.2 Annual risk infection, disease, and mortality for rotavirus in drinking water.

a variety of soil types, pathogens, and hydrogeologic and environmental conditions.

An effort to calculate infection risks associated with exposure to recovered water produced by California treatment plants was conducted recently (Tanaka et al., 1993). In this risk assessment, measured concentrations of enteroviruses in unchlorinated secondary effluent, rather than final effluent (in which vital concentrations are generally below detection limits), were used as the starting point. Full tertiary treatment (consisting of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection) would be expected to reduce the vital concentration by 5.2 logs from the secondary effluent. If the secondary effluent was directly chlorinated, the virus concentration would be reduced by 3.9 logs. The researchers assumed that 21 ground water containing 50 percent reclaimed water was consumed per day. They also assumed that the rate of virus inactivation/ removal during transport through 3 m (10 ft) unsaturated zone and 6 months retention in the aquifer was 0.1 day-1. The annual risks of virus infection from

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.12 Probability of Infection from Accidental Ingestion of 100 ml of Recovered Water Containing Viruses and Protozoa

Levels in Treated Water

(per 100 l)

Exposure per 100 ml

Estimated Risk of Infection in Exposed Population

 

 

Rotavirus Model

Echovirus Model

Giarida Model

Viruses

 

 

 

 

0.01 plaque-forming units

1.0 × 10-5

6.2 × 10-6

2.0 × 10-3

 

0.13 plaque-forming units

1.3 × 10-4

6.0 × 10-5

2.7 × 10-7

 

Giardia

 

 

 

 

0.49 cysts

4.9 × 10-4

 

 

9.8 × 10-6

0.89 cysts

8.9 × 10-4

 

 

1 .88 × 10-5

1.67 cysts

1.77 × 10-3

 

 

3.3 × 10-5

3.3 cysts

3.3 x × 10-3

 

 

6.6 × 10-5

Cryptosporidium

 

 

 

 

0.75 oocysts

7.5 × 10-4

 

 

1.5 × 10-5

5.35 oocysts

5.35 × 10-3

 

 

1.1 × 10-4

 

Source: Rose and Carnahan, 1993.

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.13 Risk of Contracting at Least One Infection from Exposure to Viruses in Ground Water Recharged with Chlorinated Tertiary Reclaimed Wastewater

 

Maximum Concentration

Viruses

111 plaque-forming units 100 1-1

1 plaque-forming units 100-1

Lifetime Risk

 

 

Echovirus 12

4.13E-6

3.72E-8

Poliovirus 1

3.78E-7

3.40E-9

Poliovirus 3

1.59E-6

1.43E-8

Annual Risk

 

 

Echovirus 12

5.90E-8

5.31E-10

Poliovirus 1

5.40E-9

4.86E-11

Poliovirus 3

2.27E-8

2.04E-10

Daily Risk

 

 

Echovirus 12

1.62E-10

1.46E-12

Poliovirus 1

1.48E-11

1.33E-13

Poliovirus 3

6.21E-11

5.60E-13

 

Source: Asano et al., 1992.

exposure to ground water recharged with reclaimed water are shown in Table 4.14. Calculated infection risks for effluent treated beyond unchlorinated secondary ranged from 8 per 100 million to 5.8 per 100 billion.

RISKS FROM DISINFECTANTS AND DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS VERSUS RISKS FROM PATHOGENS

From a public health perspective, a central issue associated with the artificial recharge of ground water is how to balance the risks associated with pathogenic microorganisms against those from disinfection by-products (DBPs). To develop an optimal strategy for the protection of public health, the relative risks associated with various concentrations of pathogenic microorganisms and DBPs must be weighed in light of the benefits brought by use of an effective disinfectant. The carcinogenic risk from the DBPs should be compared to the risk of infection from pathogens. Such a comparison grossly oversimplifies the risk-benefit ratio, however, and should serve simply as a crude comparison to obtain more information for consideration rather than an accurate quantitative assessment.

The carcinogenic risks from disinfectants and DBPs have been estimated by Bull and Kopfler (1991). Bromodichloromethane presents the highest risks based on adenocarcinomas of the large intestine. The risks estimated from the chlori-

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

TABLE 4.14 Predicted Annual Virus Infection Risk from Exposure to Ground Water Recharged with Reclaimed Water (Monte Carlo Simulation, n=500)

 

Treatment System

Tertiary Treatment

OCSD TF

OCSD AS

Pomona AS

MRWPCA AS

Full (5.2 long inactivation/removal)

8.32E-10

5.81E-11

1.69E-10

3.25E-9

Direct chlorination of secondary effluent (3.9 log inactivation/removal)

2.09E-08

1.46E-09

4.25E-09

8.17E-08

Unchlorinated secondary effluent (0 log inactivation/removal)

1.32E-4

1 .32E-6

2.68E-5

5.1 5E-4

 

Source: Tanaka et al., 1993.

nated acetic acid are even higher when mouse liver tumors are considered. The chemicals have not been tested in a second species.

As a crude comparison, Bull et al., (1990) indicated that the probability of mortality induced by improperly disinfected drinking water would exceed the carcinogenic risks introduced by chlorine by as much as 1,000-fold. If disinfection were removed from a contaminated water system that depends on such disinfection, everyone in the community would contract one or more waterborne diseases during their lifetime. Theoretically, the number of deaths from such diseases would equal the mortality rate for the same diseases. The mortality rates for various enteric bacteria and enteroviruses range from 0.12 to 0.94 percent. The carcinogenic risks from chloroform at the mean concentration found (26.4 µg/l) has been estimated to range from 0.24 to 3.0 × 10-6 based on the use of MLE or UCL 95 percent and different tumor sites (Bull and Kopfler, 1991). The risk estimates for other chemicals considered individually range from 0.00034 to 140 × 10-6. For pathogens, the estimated lifetime risk of mortality from exposure to echovirus 6 at 1 vital infections unit per 1,000 liters of water is greater than 10-5. At one infectious unit of hepatitis in 1,000 liters, the estimated annual risk of mortality is greater than 10-4. The actual risk varies depending on the presence of the number of pathogens. In domestic sewage and polluted surface water (streams) in the United States, the concentrations of enteric organisms (enteric virus, Cryptosporidium, Giardia) have ranged from 0.1 to 10 per 100 ml (Bull et al., 1990). Coliforms were estimated at 10-5 and 10-9 per 100

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

ml. If the estimated concentration range for enteric virus is extrapolated to echovirus 6 and the lowest concentration is assumed (1 per 100 ml in polluted stream), then the concentration of echovirus 6 for 1,000 liters of water would be 1,000,000 rather than I infectious unit, and the resulting estimated lifetime risk of mortality would be significantly higher than 10-4.

HEALTH IMPLICATIONS FROM NONPOTABLE USES

The public health implications of nonpotable reuse, except where intended for market crops to be eaten raw, have not been addressed as extensively as the implications of potable reuse because nonpotable reuse has been practiced widely for decades without public concern and because the exposure from nonpotable reuse, and thus the risk, is more limited. An upcoming study from the National Research Council, ''Use of Treated Municipal Wastewater Effluent and Sludge in Crop Production," will address issues associated with using wastewater and sludge in food crop production in depth; the report is expected to be available in early 1995. In general, however, the health implications of using recovered ground water for nonpotable purposes are more easily addressed than those associated with potable reuse. For most nonpotable uses of water, pathogenic microorganisms represent the major health concern. However, chemical constituents may represent a health hazard for some uses, such as crop irrigation and aquaculture, where inorganic or organic constituents of health significance may accumulate in crops or fish.

Recommended water quality criteria and parameters have been developed for several nonpotable water applications, such as irrigation water and industrial cooling and process water (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1973, 1992; Ayers and Westcott, 1985). In addition, many states have developed comprehensive water reclamation and reuse criteria for nonpotable uses of treated municipal wastewater (State of California, 1978; Florida Department of Environmental Regulations, 1990; State of Texas, 1990; Pawlowski, 1992; State of Washington, 1993); hence, state water reuse criteria, which are principally directed at public health protection from pathogenic microorganisms, often are applicable to extracted ground water containing previously recharged wastewater. EPA's Guidelines for Water Reuse (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992) contain recommended wastewater treatment processes and water quality limits for a wide variety of nonpotable types of reuse.

Pathogens are a concern where there is human exposure to the water (by contact, inhalation, or ingestion) or to food or other objects that have come in contact with the water. The types and concentrations of pathogens that may be present in source water used for recharge are presented in Chapter 2. Protection of public health is achieved by (1) reducing the concentrations of pathogenic bacteria, parasites, and enteric viruses in the source water prior to recharge; (2) disinfecting the water upon extraction, if necessary; or (3) limiting public or

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
×

worker exposure to the water or fomites (objects that might be contaminated with infectious agents). While many bacteria and most, if not all, larger organisms generally are effectively removed after percolation through a short distance of the soil mantle at percolation sites, viruses have been isolated by several investigators examining a variety of recharge operations (Gerba and Goyal, 1985).

Under favorable conditions, pathogens can survive for long periods on crops or in water or soil. Factors that affect survival include the number and type of organism, soil organic matter content (presence of organic matter aiding survival), temperature (longer survival at low temperatures), humidity (longer survival at high humidity), pH, amount of rainfall, amount of sunlight (solar radiation being detrimental to survival), protection provided by foliage, and competitive microbial fauna and flora. Survival times for any particular microorganism exhibit wide fluctuations under differing conditions (Feachem et al., 1983).

It has been reported that viruses and other pathogens in irrigation water do not readily penetrate fruits or vegetables unless the skin is broken (Bryan, 1974). In a study in which soil was inoculated with poliovirus, viruses were detected in the leaves of plants only when the plant roots were damaged or cut (Shuval, 1978). Although adsorption of viruses by plant roots, and subsequent translocation to stems and leaves, has been reported (Murphy and Syverton, 1958), it probably does not occur with sufficient regularity to be a mechanism for the transmission of viruses. Therefore, the likelihood that pathogens would be translocated through trees or vines to the edible part of crops is extremely low.

Viruses and many pathogenic bacteria are in the respirable size range; hence, a possible direct means of human infection is by inhalation of aerosols containing pathogenic microorganisms. Infection or disease also may be contracted indirectly by aerosols deposited on surfaces such as food, vegetation, and clothes. The infectious dose of some pathogens is lower for respiratory tract infections than for infections via the gastrointestinal tract; thus, for some pathogens, inhalation may be a more likely route for disease than either contact or ingestion (Hoadley and Goyal, 1976). Although bacteria and viruses in aerosols have been detected several hundred meters downwind from the point of aerosol generation (Sepp, 1971; Teltsch and Katzenelson, 1978; Johnson et al., 1980; Bausum et al., 1983; Camaan et al., 1986; Camaan et al., 1988), there have not been any documented disease outbreaks in the United States resulting from spray irrigation with treated municipal wastewater that has been disinfected (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1980).

For intermittent spraying using recovered water, occasional inadvertent contact should pose little microbiological health hazard from inhalation. Aerosols emitted from cooling towers used continuously may present a greater concern if the water is not properly disinfected. Although studies indicate that the health risk associated with aerosols from spray irrigation sites is low, the general prac-

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
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tice has been to limit exposure to aerosols produced from waters that are likely to contain pathogenic microorganisms until more sensitive and definitive studies can be conducted to fully evaluate the ability of pathogens contained in aerosols to cause disease.

In general, the health hazards associated with the ingestion of inorganic constituents through water or food are well established (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1976), and EPA has set maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for drinking water. For crop irrigation the elements of greatest concern at elevated levels are cadmium, copper, molybdenum, nickel, and zinc. Nickel and zinc are of a lesser concern than cadmium, copper, and molybdenum because they have visible adverse effects in plants at lower concentrations than the levels harmful to animals and humans. Cadmium, copper, and molybdenum, however, can be harmful to animals at concentrations too low to affect plants.

Copper is not toxic to monogastric animals, but may be toxic to ruminants; however, their tolerance to copper increases as available molybdenum increases (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1981). Molybdenum can also be toxic when available in the absence of copper. Cadmium is of particular concern because it can accumulate in the food chain. It does not adversely affect ruminants in the small amounts they ingest. Most milk and beef products are also unaffected by livestock ingestion of cadmium because it is stored in the liver and kidneys of the animal instead of the fat or muscle tissue.

Pretreatment of waters of impaired quality prior to surface spreading and the additional treatment provided during percolation through the vadose zone are generally sufficient to reduce the concentrations of inorganic constituents of health concern to levels that are acceptable for nonpotable uses of the recovered water. Similarly, the high levels of treatment usually required for injection water reduce inorganic constituents to low levels. Trace elements in treated municipal wastewater normally occur in concentrations of less than a few milligrams per liter, with usual concentrations less than 100 µg/l (Page and Chang, 1985).

Organic constituents may be of concern where recovered water is used for crop irrigation, where the organics may bioaccumulate in the food chain, such as in fish-rearing ponds, or where the water from irrigation or other uses reaches potable supplies, which may result in exposure from direct ingestion or by inhalation or skin contact (Andelman, 1990; Wilkes et al., 1992).

Crop uptake of certain pesticides has been studied (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1973; Palazzo, 1976), and uptake of polychlorinated biphenyls by root crops has been demonstrated under field conditions (Iwata and Gunther, 1976). Uptake of organic compounds is affected by the solubility, size, concentration, and polarity of the organic molecules; the organic content, pH, and microbial activity of the soil; and climate. A study on health risks associated with land application of sludge found that not more than 3 percent or less of the pesticides and herbicides present in the soil passed into plant foliage (Pahren et al., 1979). It has been postulated that most trace organic compounds are too

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
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large to pass through the semipermeable membrane of plant roots (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1981).

SUMMARY

To evaluate the health implications of the use of reclaimed water for ground water recharge, information including, but not limited to, the following is needed: types and concentrations of chemicals present in the water (source water, recovered water, water at the point of use); environmental fate, transport, degradation, transformation, and any effect of treatment or processing of the water on the parent compound .and breakdown products; toxicological properties of the chemicals; end use of the water; and characterization of human exposure.

There are a number of recharge projects in the United States and other parts of the world which have provided analytical data on the contaminants found in the reclaimed water. The constituents are highly variable, depending on the source of water and specific sites involved. Some of the findings show levels exceeding the U.S. drinking water standards. A more limited number of projects have provided health effects data associated with use of recovered water. The majority of the limited health effects data do not suggest a health concern. Overall continued chemical monitoring and characterization and more toxicological evaluations are needed, however. Exposure data are lacking, and the magnitude of human exposure should be better defined.

Many of the specific conclusions and recommendations made by the Scientific Advisory Panel on Ground Water Recharge (State of California, 1987) regarding toxicological evaluations and epidemiologic studies remain valid. When only mutagenicity data (obtained from the Ames assay) are available, it is clear that the database is not adequate for the assessment of health risks associated with the water. A spectrum of toxicological studies would be needed to provide the necessary data. The design of the studies would depend on what is known (e.g., point of withdrawal, chemical concentration, known constituents) about the water, the selection and preparation of which for testing would be specific for each project. Epidemiological studies can provide a baseline for future references or may assist in identifying a relationship (spatial, temporal, causal) between use of recovered water and associated health effects. However, if not properly designed and conducted with adequate resources, planning, conduct and follow-up, epidemiological studies can be limited by small sample size, existence of confounding factors, and lack of known exposure and control group. They are often of limited value in identifying a cause-and-effect relationship. Therefore, epidemiological studies are not recommended unless the criteria are met for conducting a comprehensive and valid examination.

No quality standards currently exist for chemicals in recovered water intended for potable use. Criteria should be established for the evaluation of the presence of chemicals in such water. Comparison with existing water supply or

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
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drinking water standards is one common and convenient approach for evaluating the quality of the recovered water. However, drinking water standards are not based solely on health considerations but also on technical feasibility, detectability, and economic considerations. In addition, there may be other potential sources of exposure to the same chemicals. Therefore, total exposure and methods used to derive health base levels should be considered.

Disinfection by-products (DBPs) are of potential concern in ground water recharge systems used for potable water, as they are in water supplies drawn from surface or non-recharged ground water. The nature and toxicity of such DBPs have been most widely studied for chlorine disinfection of potable water supplies. DBPs from the use of other disinfectants, such as ozone and chloramines, are not as well characterized. Also, the possible differences in the nature and quantifies of DBPs from the disinfection of wastewaters that may be used for ground water recharge, such as highly treated sewage and agricultural wastewaters, have for the most part not been studied. In conventional public water supply systems, humic materials are normally the major precursors in the formation of DBPs. In water from unconventional sources, however, there may be a different mix of DBPs, and the nature of the dissolved organic carbon remaining following disinfection may be different from that of humic materials.

As with conventional potable water disinfection, a key issue in developing ground water recharge systems is the need to balance the risks in using chemical disinfectants to reduce the number of pathogenic microorganisms with the risks associated with the DBPs formed in the process. A variety of factors influence the pathogen content of wastewater, including season, the economic status of the population producing the wastewater, water use patterns, and the quality of the potable water supply. Almost half of the outbreaks of waterborne disease in the United States in the 1980s were associated with the use of undisinfected or inadequately disinfected ground water, with sewage most often identified as the source of contamination. The causative agents were identified in less than half of all the outbreaks. The Norwalk virus may have been responsible for many of these outbreaks.

Assessing the risk of an individual from pathogens in recovered water is a difficult and uncertain task. Bacteria and parasites generally are removed to a greater extent than enteric viruses during infiltration through soils; thus viruses are of greater concern when exposure is to the affected ground water. The number and types of pathogens in recovered water depend on the level of treatment the water has received. Studies of enterovirus removal in water reclamation plants in southern California indicate that, with proper treatment, viruses can be reduced to below detectable levels. However, in general there is little information on the concentrations of several pathogens of public health concern in such studies, including hepatitis A and E viruses, rotavirus, Norwalk virus, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium. Estimates of infection risks from the accidental ingestion of 100 ml of final effluent from advanced municipal wastewater treat-

Suggested Citation:"4 Public Health Issues." National Research Council. 1994. Ground Water Recharge Using Waters of Impaired Quality. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4780.
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ment effluent ranged from approximately 1 in 10,000 for Cryptosporidium to 2 in 100 million for viruses. Similarly, estimates of annual risks to those exposed to a specific use of ground water recharged with a chlorinated secondary sewage effluent ranged from 8 in 100 million to 1.5 in billion. Currently, the control of such risks below 1 in 10,000 is considered acceptable.

On the basis of available information, there is no indication that the health risks from using reclaimed wastewater are greater than those from using existing water supplies or that the concentrations of chemicals, with several exceptions, or microorganisms are higher than those established in drinking water standards set by EPA. One limitation is that not all the chemicals identified have drinking water standards for such a comparison. There are other uncertainties, too, in such an evaluation, including the limited chemical and toxicological characterizations of source and recovered waters, and the uncertain environmental fates of the chemicals and microorganisms in the recharge systems, and the limited epidemiological data. Furthermore, it should be remembered that the EPA standards are based on water sampled from high quality sources. Such standards are often years behind our knowledge and our knowledge at any time is limited. (For example, health effects are determined for each organic compound separately, not for the inevitable mixtures of organics.) Accordingly, monitoring of potentially toxic constituents and pathogenic microorganisms should be required in using water extracted from these recharge systems. Increased reliance on technology also brings increased uncertainty and thus some risk. Given these uncertainties, where recovered recharge water is intended for potable purposes and human exposure is increased, great care is necessary (Asano et al., 1992; NRC, 1983; NRC, 1994).

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As demand for water increases, water managers and planners will need to look widely for ways to improve water management and augment water supplies. This book concludes that artificial recharge can be one option in an integrated strategy to optimize total water resource management and that in some cases impaired-quality water can be used effectively as a source for artificial recharge of ground water aquifers. Source water quality characteristics, pretreatment and recharge technologies, transformations during transport through the soil and aquifer, public health issues, economic feasibility, and legal and institutional considerations are addressed. The book evaluates three main types of impaired quality water sources—treated municipal wastewater, stormwater runoff, and irrigation return flow—and describes which is the most consistent in terms of quality and quantity. Also included are descriptions of seven recharge projects.

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