r
D
rinking water in the United States is disinfected to prevent illnesses from
Examining Byproducts Formed During Water Treatment
pathogens, but byproducts
Overall, most large water
Besides evaluating household
pose a health risk, a Mason
York City, San Francisco, and
byproducts, Furst is developing
formed during disinfection might Engineering researcher says. Civil Engineering Assistant
Professor Kirin Emlet Furst
is researching new methods to evaluate household exposure
systems, such as those in New Fairfax County, provide high-
quality drinking water, but smaller communities often don’t have the resources to treat water to the same level, she says.
to hundreds of disinfection
Exposure to some disinfection
concerned about a subset
cancer, colorectal cancers, and
byproducts. “I’m especially of them that can form when
drinking water is contaminated with wastewater. They contain nitrogen and have not been
studied as much as regulated byproducts,” she says.
Municipal wastewater (sewage), which includes fecal matter,
byproducts is linked to bladder reproductive health problems,
which is why some are regulated in the United States. But it isn’t clear whether the regulated
byproducts are the cause of health problems, especially
because they aren’t very toxic, she says.
beauty products, and anything
Civil engineering associate
discharged into rivers and
says, “Kirin’s research work
else put down drains, is usually lakes, Those same water bodies can be used by communities
downstream as drinking water, Furst says.
exposure to disinfection
new approaches to minimize their formation during water treatment. In the end, she’ll be able to work with epidemiologists to identify which byproducts are most
harmful and design affordable
engineering strategies to prevent them from forming.
“
I’m especially concerned about a subset of byproducts that can form when drinking water is contaminated with wastewater.
”
professor Viviana Maggioni
“We want even more people to
is extremely timely, given the
against viral and bacterial
current pandemic crises and
the increased use of sanitizing products. Exploring the
health impacts of disinfection
byproducts is crucial to regulate
disinfect their water to protect infections, so it is important
to minimize new health risks
introduced by the disinfection process,” she says. g
and develop safe processes to treat our waters.”
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