ORCID Profile
0000-0002-2155-100X
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Environmental Chemistry (incl. Atmospheric Chemistry) | Environmental Monitoring | Health Information Systems (incl. Surveillance) | Environmental Science and Management | Separation Science | Public Health and Health Services | Analytical Spectrometry | Other Chemical Sciences | Analytical spectrometry | Analytical Chemistry | Analytical chemistry | Instrumental methods (excl. immunological and bioassay methods) | Separation science | Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety | Polymers and Plastics | Environmental Management | Materials Engineering | Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry not elsewhere classified | Crop and Pasture Biomass and Bioproducts | Forestry Biomass and Bioproducts | Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified | Analytical Biochemistry |
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Environmental Health | Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences | Expanding Knowledge in the Chemical Sciences | Consumption Patterns, Population Issues and the Environment | Aquaculture Rock Lobster | Substance Abuse | Environmentally Sustainable Manufacturing not elsewhere classified | Water Services and Utilities | Urban and Industrial Water Management | Horticultural Crops not elsewhere classified | Plastic Products (incl. Construction Materials) | Expanding Knowledge in Engineering | Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences | Health Policy Evaluation | Health Protection and/or Disaster Response
Related Links
Publications
Population Socioeconomics Predicted Using Wastewater
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 26-06-2020
Determining changes in new psychoactive substance use in Australia by wastewater analysis
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2020
Does size matter? Quantification of plastics associated with size fractionated biosolids
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2021.152382
Abstract: This study investigated the occurrence and contribution of plastic particles associated with size fractionated biosolids to the total concentration in biosolids (treated sewage sludge) s les collected from 20 wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) across Australia. This was achieved through sequential size fractionation of biosolids s les to quantify the mass concentration of 7 common plastics across a range of biosolids size fractions, including below 25 μm which has not been assessed in many previous studies. Quantitative analysis was performed by pressurized liquid extraction followed by pyrolysis coupled to gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. Of the total quantified plastics (Σ
Machine learning combined with non-targeted LC-HRMS analysis for a risk warning system of chemical hazards in drinking water: A proof of concept
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.TALANTA.2018.11.039
Abstract: Guaranteeing clean drinking water to the global population is becoming more challenging, because of the cases of water scarcity across the globe, growing population, and increased chemical footprint of this population. Existing targeted strategies for hazard monitoring in drinking water are not adequate to handle such erse and multidimensional stressors. In the current study, we have developed, validated, and tested a machine learning algorithm based on the data produced via non-targeted liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) for the identification of potential chemical hazards in drinking water. The machine learning algorithm consisted of a composite statistical model including an unsupervised component (i.e. principal component analysis PCA) and a supervised one (i.e. partial least square discrimination analysis PLS-DA). This model was trained using a training set of 20 drinking water s les previously tested via conventional suspect screening. The developed model was validated using a validation set of 20 drinking water s les of which 4 were spiked with 15 labeled standards at four different concentration levels. The model successfully detected all of the added analytes in the four spiked s les without producing any cases of false detection. The same validation set was processed via conventional trend analysis in order to cross validate the composite model. The results of cross validation showed that even though the conventional trend analysis approach produced a false positive detection rate of ≤5% the composite model outperformed that approach by producing zero cases of false detection. Additionally, the validated model went through an additional test with 42 extra drinking water s les from the same source for an unbiased examination of the model. Finally, the potentials and limitations of this approach were further discussed.
The first environmental assessment of hexa(methoxymethyl)melamine and co-occurring cyclic amines in Australian waterways
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2020
Per capita loads of organic UV filters in Australian wastewater influent
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.01.140
Abstract: Per capita loads of six UV filters were estimated in wastewater influent s les from 36 wastewater treatment plants in Australia collected over a weekend period during the 2016 Australian Census. Of the analysed s les, 99% contained at least one of the target compounds. Phenyl benzimidazole sulfonic acid (PBSA) was the most prevalent (99%), followed by benzophenone 4 (BP4) (97%), benzophenone 3 (BP3) (87%), benzophenone 1 (BP1) (84%), 4-methylbenzylidene c hor (4-MBC) (22%) and isoamyl 4-methoxycinnamate (IMC) (1.5%). The highest concentrations were 3780 and 5070 ng L
Influence of surface oxidation on the quantification of polypropylene microplastics by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Intraday variability of indicator and pathogenic viruses in 1-h and 24-h composite wastewater samples: Implications for wastewater-based epidemiology
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2021
Determination of anabasine, anatabine, and nicotine biomarkers in wastewater by enhanced direct injection LC-MS/MS and evaluation of their in-sewer stability
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2020
Emergence and occurrence of performance-enhancing substance use in Australia determined by wastewater analysis
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-10-2023
The NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN-SLE): facilitating European and worldwide collaboration on suspect screening in high resolution mass spectrometry
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-10-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12302-022-00680-6
Abstract: The NORMAN Association ( www.norman-network.com/ ) initiated the NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN-SLE ds/SLE/ ) in 2015, following the NORMAN collaborative trial on non-target screening of environmental water s les by mass spectrometry. Since then, this exchange of information on chemicals that are expected to occur in the environment, along with the accompanying expert knowledge and references, has become a valuable knowledge base for “suspect screening” lists. The NORMAN-SLE now serves as a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) chemical information resource worldwide. The NORMAN-SLE contains 99 separate suspect list collections (as of May 2022) from over 70 contributors around the world, totalling over 100,000 unique substances. The substance classes include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, natural toxins, high production volume substances covered under the European REACH regulation (EC: 1272/2008), priority contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and regulatory lists from NORMAN partners. Several lists focus on transformation products (TPs) and complex features detected in the environment with various levels of provenance and structural information. Each list is available for separate download. The merged, curated collection is also available as the NORMAN Substance Database (NORMAN SusDat). Both the NORMAN-SLE and NORMAN SusDat are integrated within the NORMAN Database System (NDS). The in idual NORMAN-SLE lists receive digital object identifiers (DOIs) and traceable versioning via a Zenodo community ( ommunities/norman-sle ), with a total of 40,000 unique views, 50,000 unique downloads and 40 citations (May 2022). NORMAN-SLE content is progressively integrated into large open chemical databases such as PubChem ( pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ) and the US EPA’s CompTox Chemicals Dashboard ( ashboard/ ), enabling further access to these lists, along with the additional functionality and calculated properties these resources offer. PubChem has also integrated significant annotation content from the NORMAN-SLE, including a classification browser ( lassification/#hid=101 ). The NORMAN-SLE offers a specialized service for hosting suspect screening lists of relevance for the environmental community in an open, FAIR manner that allows integration with other major chemical resources. These efforts foster the exchange of information between scientists and regulators, supporting the paradigm shift to the “one substance, one assessment” approach. New submissions are welcome via the contacts provided on the NORMAN-SLE website ( ds/SLE/ ).
Enantiomeric profiling of amphetamine and methamphetamine in wastewater: A 7-year study in regional and urban Queensland, Australia.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.06.242
Abstract: Enantiomeric profiling was used in this study to investigate the consumption of hetamine and meth hetamine in regional and urban Southeast Queensland, Australia over a period of seven years. S(+) meth hetamine was predominantly consumed in both urban and regional areas, showing a two and three fold increase in urban and regional catchments respectively between 2011 and 2017. The ratio of hetamine to meth hetamine (AMP/METH) in wastewater reflected the expected excretion profile of meth hetamine consumption indicating the presence of hetamine in this study was primarily the result of meth hetamine metabolism. However, the occasional occurrence of R(-) hetamine in s les containing higher AMP/METH ratios, suggested the consumption of racemic hetamine. The R(-) meth hetamine enantiomer was also identified in several s les, possibly indicative that the phenyl-2-propanone (P2P) synthesis process rather than the more typical reduction of ephedrines was also being used to manufacture meth hetamine. Furthermore, we identified two s les with a significantly different enantiomer ratio for the METH and AMP as well as a much lower AMP/METH concentration ratio suggesting contribution from direct disposal of meth hetamine into the sewer. This study demonstrated that enantiomeric profiling in wastewater-based epidemiology can provide valuable information for evaluating the origin of hetamine in wastewater as either a metabolite of meth hetamine consumption or hetamine itself.
In vitro biotransformation and evaluation of potential transformation products of chlorinated paraffins by high resolution accurate mass spectrometry
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
Microplastics and nanoplastics in urban waters
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2023
Comparison of phosphodiesterase type V inhibitors use in eight European cities through analysis of urban wastewater
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2018.03.039
Abstract: In this work a step forward in investigating the use of prescription drugs, namely erectile dysfunction products, at European level was taken by applying the wastewater-based epidemiology approach. 24-h composite s les of untreated wastewater were collected at the entrance of eight wastewater treatment plants serving the catchment within the cities of Bristol, Brussels, Castellón, Copenhagen, Milan, Oslo, Utrecht and Zurich. A validated analytical procedure with direct injection of filtered aliquots by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was applied. The target list included the three active pharmaceutical ingredients (sildenafil, tadalafil and vardenafil) together with (bio)transformation products and other analogues. Only sildenafil and its two human urinary metabolites desmethyl- and desethylsildenafil were detected in the s les with concentrations reaching 60 ng L
Comparison of virus concentration methods for the RT-qPCR-based recovery of murine hepatitis virus, a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 from untreated wastewater
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
The NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN-SLE): Facilitating European and Worldwide Collaboration on Suspect Screening in High Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 08-2022
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-1902466/V1
Abstract: Background: The NORMAN Association (www.norman-network.com/) initiated the NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN-SLE ds/SLE/) in 2015, following the NORMAN collaborative trial on non-target screening of environmental water s les by mass spectrometry. Since then, this exchange of information on chemicals that are expected to occur in the environment, along with the accompanying expert knowledge and references, has become a valuable knowledge base for “suspect screening” lists. The NORMAN-SLE now serves as a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) chemical information resource worldwide. Results: The NORMAN-SLE contains 99 separate suspect list collections (as of May 2022) from over 70 contributors around the world, totalling over 100,000 unique substances. The substance classes include per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, natural toxins, high production volume substances covered under the European REACH regulation (EC: 1272/2008), priority contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and regulatory lists from NORMAN partners. Several lists focus on transformation products (TPs) and complex features detected in the environment with various levels of provenance and structural information. Each list is available for separate download. The merged, curated collection is also available as the NORMAN Substance Database (NORMAN SusDat). Both the NORMAN-SLE and NORMAN SusDat are integrated within the NORMAN Database System (NDS). The in idual NORMAN-SLE lists receive digital object identifiers (DOIs) and traceable versioning via a Zenodo community (ommunities/norman-sle), with a total of ,000 unique views, ,000 unique downloads and 40 citations (May 2022). NORMAN-SLE content is progressively integrated into large open chemical databases such as PubChem (pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and the US EPA’s CompTox Chemicals Dashboard (ashboard/), enabling further access to these lists, along with the additional functionality and calculated properties these resources offer. PubChem has also integrated significant annotation content from the NORMAN-SLE, including a classification browser (lassification/#hid=101). Conclusions: The NORMAN-SLE offers a specialized service for hosting suspect screening lists of relevance for the environmental community in an open, FAIR manner that allows integration with other major chemical resources. These efforts foster the exchange of information between scientists and regulators, supporting the paradigm shift to the “one chemical, one assessment” approach. New submissions are welcome via the contacts provided on the NORMAN-SLE website (ds/SLE/).
Enantiomeric profiling of chiral illicit drugs in a pan-European study
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2017.11.051
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the first study on spatial and temporal variation in the enantiomeric profile of chiral drugs in eight European cities. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) and enantioselective analysis were combined to evaluate trends in illicit drug use in the context of their consumption vs direct disposal as well as their synthetic production routes. Spatial variations in hetamine loads were observed with higher use in Northern European cities. Enantioselective analysis showed a general enrichment of hetamine with the R-(-)-enantiomer in wastewater indicating its abuse. High loads of racemic meth hetamine were detected in Oslo (EF = 0.49 ± 0.02). This is in contrast to other European cities where S-(+)-meth hetamine was the predominant enantiomer. This indicates different methods of meth hetamine synthesis and/or trafficking routes in Oslo, compared with the other cities tested. An enrichment of MDMA with the R-(-)-enantiomer was observed in European wastewaters indicating MDMA consumption rather than disposal of unused drug. MDA's chiral signature indicated its enrichment with the S-(+)-enantiomer, which confirms its origin from MDMA metabolism in humans. HMMA was also detected at quantifiable concentrations in wastewater and was found to be a suitable biomarker for MDMA consumption. Mephedrone was only detected in wastewater from the United Kingdom with population-normalised loads up to 47.7 mg 1000 people
Wastewater monitoring for SARS-CoV-2
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1071/MA21006
Abstract: Wastewater monitoring (WM) of SARS-CoV-2 from sewers was applied throughout the world early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharing of protocols and experiences in WM of SARS-CoV-2 by national and international researchers and practitioners has been vital to ensuring the sensitivity and specificity of the methods. WM has been a valuable adjunct to human clinical testing, and when positive results occur in sewage, community testing has been increased. WM findings allow public health officials to track and respond to the impacts of loosening lockdown restrictions, demonstrating when return to normal social activities might occur without a resurgence of rapid community transmission, and they are particularly useful in areas with low human case numbers and/or low clinical testing rates. New research is required to address several practical knowledge gaps, for ex le, s ling protocols, prediction of case prevalence from viral numbers by modelling, and determination of detection limits. Communication to the Australian public of WM of SARS-CoV-2 has been via interactive, visual dashboards. Once SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations are introduced, WM could help track the underlying circulation of the virus in the population, the spread of known variants and its future evolution.
Quantification of selected analgesics and their metabolites in influent wastewater by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Cumulative Neutral Loss Model for Fragment Deconvolution in Electrospray Ionization High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Data
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 07-08-2023
Out of sight but not out of mind: Size fractionation of plastics bioaccumulated by field deployed oysters
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
From Molecular Descriptors to Intrinsic Fish Toxicity of Chemicals: An Alternative Approach to Chemical Prioritization
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 08-12-2022
Monitoring medication and illicit drug consumption in a prison by wastewater-based epidemiology: impact of COVID-19 restrictions
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2023
Direct injection analysis of oxypurinol and metformin in wastewater by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-04-2022
DOI: 10.1002/DTA.3266
Abstract: The increasing global prevalence of gout and diabetes has led to a rise in the use of their respective medications, allopurinol and metformin. These are excreted via urine as oxypurinol and metformin and are discharged into wastewater and the environment. Current environmental monitoring of those two polar chemicals requires labour intensive and potentially inefficient s le pre‐treatments, such as using solid‐phase extraction or freeze‐drying. This study validated a sensitive and simple method using direct‐injection LC–MS/MS for the simultaneous measurement of oxypurinol and metformin in wastewater. The final method utilised a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography together with simple filtration through 0.2 μm regenerated cellulose filter followed by dilution in acetonitrile with a dilution factor of 10. The developed method was validated with the limit of quantifications (LOQ) of 0.11 and 0.34 μg/L for metformin and oxypurinol, respectively. The new method was applied to 42 influent wastewater s les and 6 effluent s les collected from 6 Australian wastewater treatment plants. Both compounds were detected well above the LOQ at concentrations 29–214 μg/L in influent and 2–53 μg/L in effluent for metformin, and 24–248 μg/L in influent and 4–81 μg/L in effluent for oxypurinol, demonstrating its high applicability.
From descriptors to intrinsic fish toxicity of chemicals: an alternative approach to chemical prioritization
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 21-06-2022
DOI: 10.26434/CHEMRXIV-2022-B8T79
Abstract: Most chemicals present in the human and environmental exposome are structurally unknown (i.e. ≤ 1%). The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and US Environmen- tal Protection Agency (EPA) have listed approximately 800k chemicals that must be further investigated for their potential environmental and/or human health risk. A sig- nificant number of these chemicals have large enough global volumes of consumption (e.g. industrial and agrochemical) to reach the limits of detection of our analytical chemistry methods and may be toxic. In this study we present a supervised classification model that directly connects the molecular descriptors of chemicals to their toxicity. As a proof of concept we used 907 experimentally defined LC50 values for acute fish toxicity. Our classification model explained ≈ 90% of variance in our data for the training set and ≈ 80% for the test set. Direct comparison of our classification model with the conventional strategy (i.e. QSAR regression models) resulted in a 5 fold decrease in the wrong chemical categorization for our model. This optimized model was employed to predict the toxicity categories of ≈ 32k chemicals (from the Norman SusDat). Finally, a comparison between the model based applicability domain (AD) vs the training set AD was performed, suggesting that the training set based AD is a more adequate way to avoid extrapolation when using such models. The better performance of our direct classification model compared to conventionally employed QSAR methods, makes this approach a viable tool for hazard identification and risk assessment of chemicals.
LC-HRMS suspect screening to show spatial patterns of new psychoactive substances use in Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.09.348
Abstract: New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) are an ever-changing class of compounds designed to imitate the effects of current recreational drugs. Such a erse market is difficult to assess by traditional means, while collected information can become obsolete before it is available. Wastewater-based epidemiology is one technique which can capture information on where and when NPS appear at the community level. The aim of this study was to identify NPS in wastewater s les using a suspect screening approach. Weekend s les were collected from 50 wastewater treatment plants from Australian capital cities and regional areas across all eight States and Territories and screened against a database containing almost 200 NPS. A total of 22 different NPS were found across all regional and metropolitan wastewater treatment plants. Results showed that the most detected compounds were of the cathinone class, with both Alpha-PVP and methcathinone found in every region. In addition, five different synthetic cannabinoids were detected, at least once in half of the regions analysed. Herein, we report the first comprehensive nationwide analysis of NPS and show the utility of liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry screening for delivering spatial information of the NPS being consumed in communities.
Harnessing the Power of the Census: Characterizing Wastewater Treatment Plant Catchment Populations for Wastewater-Based Epidemiology
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 30-07-2019
Abstract: Wastewater studies that provide per capita estimates of consumption (influent) or release (effluent) via wastewater systems rely heavily on accurate population data. This study evaluated the accuracy of Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) reported populations, as well as hydrochemical parameters, against accurate populations from a population census. 104 catchment maps were received from WWTPs, geolocated in geospatial software and overlaid with the smallest area unit of the Australian census, equating to 14.9 million Australians or 64% of the national population. We characterized each catchment for population counts, as well as by age profile, income profile, and education level. For a subset of sites, population estimates using hydrochemical parameters BOD, COD, and dissolved ammonia were evaluated for accuracy against census populations. Population estimates provided by WWTP personnel were on average 18% higher than census-based populations. Furthermore, hydrochemical-based population estimates had high RSD (>44%) for BOD, COD, and ammonium between sites, suggesting that their applicability for use in population estimation may not be appropriate for every WWTP. Catchment age distributions were evaluated and 46% of catchments had skewed age distributions: 6% were skewed older, and 40% were skewed younger. Through this process WWTP catchment populations can be characterized in a way that will enhance the interpretations of per capita estimates.
Phthalate diversity in eggs and associations with oxidative stress in the European herring gull (Larus argentatus)
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Calibration and validation of a novel passive sampling device for the time integrative monitoring of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and precursors in contaminated groundwater
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.JHAZMAT.2018.12.010
Abstract: Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) as key components in aqueous film forming foams (AFFF) have led to growing incidences of environmental contamination. The aim of this study was to investigate a novel diffusion based passive s ling device comprising of microporous polyethylene (PE) for the long-term time-integrative monitoring of PFASs in groundwater systems. PE passive s lers (PEs) were deployed for 83 d and calibrated at five AFFF impacted groundwater sites representing different PFASs concentration levels (ΣPFAS 0.001 to 0.1 ng mL
Accumulation and fate of nano- and micro-plastics and associated contaminants in organisms
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2018
Current and future perspectives for wastewater-based epidemiology as a monitoring tool for pharmaceutical use
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2021
Self Adjusting Algorithm for the Nontargeted Feature Detection of High Resolution Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Liquid Chromatography Profile Data.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 29-07-2019
DOI: 10.1021/ACS.ANALCHEM.9B02422
Abstract: Nontargeted feature detection in data from high resolution mass spectrometry is a challenging task, due to the complex and noisy nature of data sets. Numerous feature detection and preprocessing strategies have been developed in an attempt to tackle this challenge, but recent evidence has indicated limitations in the currently used methods. Recent studies have indicated the limitations of the currently used methods for feature detection of LC-HRMS data. To overcome these limitations, we propose a self-adjusting feature detection (SAFD) algorithm for the processing of profile data from LC-HRMS. SAFD fits a three-dimensional Gaussian into the profile data of a feature, without data preprocessing (i.e., centroiding and/or binning). We tested SAFD on 55 LC-HRMS chromatograms from which 44 were composite wastewater influent s les. Additionally, 51 of 55 s les were spiked with 19 labeled internal standards. We further validated SAFD by comparing its results with those produced via XCMS implemented through MZmine. In terms of ISs and the unknown features, SAFD produced lower rates of false detection (i.e., ≤ 5% and ≤10%, respectively) when compared to XCMS (≤11% and ≤28%, respectively). We also observed higher reproducibility in the feature area generated by SAFD algorithm versus XCMS.
Time-Integrative Passive Sampling of Very Hydrophilic Chemicals in Wastewater Influent
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 22-09-2020
Impact of sewer biofilms on fate of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and wastewater surveillance
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-02-2023
National wastewater reconnaissance of artificial sweetener consumption and emission in Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
In-Sewer Stability Assessment of Anabolic Steroids and Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 21-01-2022
Abstract: Wastewater-based epidemiology is a potential complementary technique for monitoring the use of performance- and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs), such as anabolic steroids and selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), within the general population. Assessing in-sewer transformation and degradation is critical for understanding uncertainties associated with wastewater analysis. An electrospray ionization liquid chromatography mass spectrometry method for the quantification of 59 anabolic agents in wastewater influent was developed. Limits of detection and limits of quantification ranged from 0.004 to 1.56 μg/L and 0.01 to 4.75 μg/L, respectively. Method performance was acceptable for linearity (
Improving Wastewater-Based Tobacco Use Estimates Using Anabasine
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 16-05-2023
In Situ Calibration of Passive Samplers for Viruses in Wastewater
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 08-02-2022
Corrigendum to “Enantiomeric profiling of quinolones and quinolones resistance gene qnrS in European wastewaters” [Water Res. 175 (2020) 115653]
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2020
Enantiomeric profiling of quinolones and quinolones resistance gene qnrS in European wastewaters
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2020
Artificial sweeteners in end-use biosolids in Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2021
Improved method for the determination of zinc pyrithione in environmental water samples incorporating on-line extraction and preconcentration coupled with liquid chromatography atmospheric pressure ch
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2006
DOI: 10.1016/J.CHROMA.2006.07.068
Abstract: A method has been developed for the determination of zinc pyrithione (ZnPT) in environmental water s les using monolithic reversed-phase silica columns for rapid on-line large volume solid phase extraction in tandem with on-line matrix removal using sacrificial strong anion exchange (SAX) columns. This is coupled with reversed-phase liquid chromatography with atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometric detection. Limits of detection in spiked river water s les, using a 200 mL preconcentration volume, were determined as 18 ng L(-1), with a limit of quantitation of 62 ng L(-1). The percentage recovery from spiked river water was found to be 72+/-9 (n=3 extractions), whilst overall method precision, following 10 repeat complete analyses was found to be 27% RSD at 1 microg L(-1). Linearity was determined over the concentration range of 0.25-10 microg L(-1) and the calculated regression coefficient was R(2)=0.9802. The method was used to investigate the environmental fate of zinc pyrithione in waters and its partition coefficient between sediment and water phases.
Comparative measurement and quantitative risk assessment of alcohol consumption through wastewater-based epidemiology: An international study in 20 cities
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2016.04.138
Abstract: Quantitative measurement of drug consumption biomarkers in wastewater can provide objective information on community drug use patterns and trends. This study presents the measurement of alcohol consumption in 20 cities across 11 countries through the use of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), and reports the application of these data for the risk assessment of alcohol on a population scale using the margin of exposure (MOE) approach. Raw 24-h composite wastewater s les were collected over a one-week period from 20 cities following a common protocol. For each s le a specific and stable alcohol consumption biomarker, ethyl sulfate (EtS) was determined by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The EtS concentrations were used for estimation of per capita alcohol consumption in each city, which was further compared with international reports and applied for risk assessment by MOE. The average per capita consumption in 20 cities ranged between 6.4 and 44.3L/day/1000 inhabitants. An increase in alcohol consumption during the weekend occurred in all cities, however the level of this increase was found to differ. In contrast to conventional data (sales statistics and interviews), WBE revealed geographical differences in the level and pattern of actual alcohol consumption at an inter-city level. All the s led cities were in the "high risk" category (MOE<10) and the average MOE for the whole population studied was 2.5. These results allowed direct comparisons of alcohol consumption levels, patterns and risks among the cities. This study shows that WBE can provide timely and complementary information on alcohol use and alcohol associated risks in terms of exposure at the community level.
Can wastewater analysis be used as a tool to assess the burden of pain treatment within a population?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2020
Multisite calibration of a microporous polyethylene tube passive sampler for quantifying drugs in wastewater
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 16-09-2021
From Centroided to Profile Mode: Machine Learning for Prediction of Peak Width in HRMS Data
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 29-11-2021
High-Resolution Mass Spectrometric Profiling of Stormwater in an Australian Creek
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 22-06-2023
Naive Bayes classification model for isotopologue detection in LC-HRMS data
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2022
Cumulative Neutral Loss Model for Fragment Deconvolution in Electrospray Ionization High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Data
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 03-2023
DOI: 10.26434/CHEMRXIV-2023-VKQ8Q
Abstract: Fragment deconvolution is a crucial step during componentization of non-targeted analysis (NTA) high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) data, aiming to filter out false positive (FP) signals that do not belong to the component. Moreover, inclusion of FP fragments could lead to, for ex le, wrong identification further down the workflow. Commonly used methods for deconvolution of fragment signals rely on the presence of a time domain (e.g., peak apex retention time difference and correlation analysis). However, when there is no or insufficient MS2 information in the time domain, these methods are unusable and only the mass domain remains. A probability based cumulative neutral loss (CNL) model for fragment deconvolution using the mass domain information was thus developed to allow deconvolution for such cases. The optimized model, with a mass tolerance of 0.005 Da and a CNL score threshold of -0.95, was able to achieve true positive rate (TPr) of 95.0%, a false discovery rate (FDr) of 25.6%, and a reduction rate of 39.9%. Additionally, the CNL model was extensively tested on real s les containing predominantly pesticides at different concentration levels and with matrix effects. Overall, the model was able to obtain a TPr above 95% with FD rates between 45% and 77% and reduction rates between 10% and 24%. Finally, the CNL model was compared with the retention time difference method and peak shape correlation analysis, showing that a combination of correlation analysis and the CNL model was the most effective for fragment deconvolution, obtaining a TPr of 93.1%, a FDr of 57.2%, and a reduction rate of 42.6%.
The message on the bottle: Rethinking plastic labelling to better encourage sustainable use
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
Increased nicotine consumption in Australia during the first months of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 09-03-2023
DOI: 10.1093/NTR/NTAC275
Abstract: Mixed findings have been reported about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smoking behavior in different populations. In this study, we aimed to quantify changes in smoking prevalence through the proxy of nicotine consumption in the Australian population from 2017 to 2020 inclusive. Estimates of nicotine consumption between 2017 and 2020 were retrieved from a national wastewater monitoring program that covers up to 50% of the Australian population. National sales data for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products from 2017 to 2020 were also acquired. Linear regression and pairwise comparison were conducted to identify data trends and to test differences between time periods. The average consumption of nicotine in Australia decreased between 2017 and 2019 but increased in 2020. Estimated consumption in the first half of 2020 was significantly higher (~30%) than the previous period. Sales of NRT products increased gradually from 2017 to 2020 although sales in the first half of the year were consistently lower than in the second half. Total nicotine consumption increased in Australia during the early stage of the pandemic in 2020. Increased nicotine consumption may be due to people managing higher stress levels, such as from loneliness due to control measures, and also greater opportunities to smoke/vape while working from home and during lockdowns in the early stage of the pandemic. Tobacco and nicotine consumption have been decreasing in Australia but the COVID-19 pandemic may have temporarily disrupted this trend. In 2020, the higher impacts of lockdowns and working from home arrangements may have led to a temporary reversal of the previous downward trend in smoking during the early stage of the pandemic.
Quantitative Analysis of Selected Plastics in High-Commercial-Value Australian Seafood by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 09-07-2020
Estimating Alcohol Consumption by Wastewater-Based Epidemiology: An Assessment of the Correction Factor for Ethyl Sulfate Using Large-Scale National Monitoring Data
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 10-02-2021
Characterization of glyphosate and AMPA concentrations in the urine of Australian and New Zealand populations
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.157585
Abstract: Glyphosate is the most used herbicide globally, but our understanding of human exposure and how different uses affect exposure is not well understood. The aim of this study was to obtain the first data on glyphosate and its primary degradation product aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) concentrations in pooled and in idual urine from the Australia and New Zealand region using a sensitive direct injection method and compare results with studies from elsewhere. Pooled urine s les from the Australian general population (n = 125 pools representing >1875 in iduals) and in idual urine s les (n = 27) from occupationally exposed New Zealand farmers were analysed by LC-MS/MS. Glyphosate was detected above the LOD (0.20-1.25 μg/L) in 8 % of the Australian population pooled urine s les with most detections in the 45-60 years age group. Furthermore, glyphosate (0.85 to 153 μg/L) and AMPA (0.50 to 3.35 μg/L) were detected in 96 % and 33 % of farmers, respectively. The maximum glyphosate urine concentration was 1.7 times above the recommended acceptable daily intake (ADI), when assuming a urinary excretion rate of 1 %. The pooled s ling and analysis approach proved effective for rapid large-scale screening of populations and could be used to determine where targeted and more specific in idual s ling may be required.
First confirmed detection of SARS-CoV-2 in untreated wastewater in Australia: A proof of concept for the wastewater surveillance of COVID-19 in the community
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2020
Critical assessment of the chemical space covered by LC-HRMS non-targeted analysis
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 15-05-2023
DOI: 10.26434/CHEMRXIV-2023-5X55C
Abstract: Non-targeted analysis (NTA) has emerged as a valuable approach for comprehensive monitoring of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) in the exposome. The NTA approach, theoretically, is able to identify compounds with erse physicochemical properties and sources. Non-targeted analysis methods, even though generic and wide scoping, have been shown to have limitations in terms of their coverage of the chemical space, as the number of the identified chemicals in each s le is very low (e.g. 5%). Investigating the chemical space covered by each NTA assay is crucial for understanding the limitations and challenges associated with the workflow from experimental methods to the data acquisition and data processing. In this review, we examined recent NTA studies published between 2017 and 2023 that employed liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. The parameters used in each study were documented and reported chemicals at the confidence level 1 and 2 were retrieved. The chosen experimental setups and the quality of reporting were critically evaluated and discussed. The findings revealed that only around 2% of the estimated chemical space (i.e. Norman SusDat) was covered by the NTA studies investigated. Little to no trend was found between the experimental setup and the observed coverage, due to the generic and wide scope of NTA studies. The limited coverage of chemical space by the NTA studies highlights the necessity for a more comprehensive approach in experimental and data processing setups to enable the exploration of a broader range of chemical space, with the ultimate goal of protecting human and environmental health. Recommendations to further explore a wider range of the chemical space were given.
Long-term trends in tobacco use assessed by wastewater-based epidemiology and its relationship with consumption of nicotine containing products
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2020
Influence of Sample Stability on Non-target Analysis during Long Batch Acquisitions
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 11-08-2023
Direct injection liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry as a sensitive and high-throughput method for the quantitative surveillance of antimicrobials in wastewater
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2023
Mining Population Exposure and Community Health via Wastewater-Based Epidemiology
Publisher: Springer Singapore
Date: 10-08-2019
An assessment of quality assurance/quality control efforts in high resolution mass spectrometry non-target workflows for analysis of environmental samples
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2020
Social, demographic, and economic correlates of food and chemical consumption measured by wastewater-based epidemiology
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 07-10-2019
Abstract: To date, wastewater-based epidemiology has focused on reporting drug and pharmaceutical consumption patterns by analyzing domestic wastewater. Here we explore the relationships between chemicals in wastewater and social, demographic, and economic parameters of the respective populations. We show the extent to which consumption of chemicals such as opioids and illicit drugs are associated with sociodemographics. We also examine chemicals that reflect in iduals’ consumption of food components in wastewater and show that disparities in diet are associated with educational level. Our study shows that chemicals in wastewater reflect the social, demographic, and economic properties of the respective populations and highlights the potential value of wastewater in studying the sociodemographic determinants of population health.
Estimation of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances mass loads in the Danube River using passive sampling
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2023
Population histamine burden assessed using wastewater-based epidemiology: The association of 1,4‑methylimidazole acetic acid and fexofenadine
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2018.08.009
Abstract: Systematic s ling and analysis of wastewater has become an important tool for monitoring consumption of drugs and other substances, and has been proposed as a method to evaluate aspects of population health using endogenous biomarkers. 1,4‑methylimidazoleacetic acid (MIAA) is an endogenous biomarker and metabolite of histamine turnover. Its urinary excretion is elevated in conditions such as mastocytosis, hay fever, hives, food allergies and anaphylaxis. The aim of this study was to develop and apply methods for MIAA in wastewater and compare its occurrence with antihistamine use in wastewater. Consecutive daily s les were collected from seven catchments serving populations from 3000 to 2 million and covering rural and urban communities during the 2016 Census in Australia. MIAA and the antihistamines (ranitidine, fexofenadine, cetirizine) were quantified consistently. Per capita excretion of MIAA (mg/d/capita) estimated from the WW concentrations were consistent with findings from previous clinical studies. We found significant positive correlations between loads of MIAA and fexofenadine (R
Multi-year inter-laboratory exercises for the analysis of illicit drugs and metabolites in wastewater: Development of a quality control system
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
A wastewater-based evaluation of the effectiveness of codeine control measures in Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-11-2023
DOI: 10.1111/ADD.16083
Abstract: From 1 February 2018, codeine was rescheduled from an over‐the‐counter (OTC) to a prescription‐only medicine in Australia. We used wastewater‐based epidemiology to measure changes in population codeine consumption before and after rescheduling. We analysed 3703 wastewater s les from 48 wastewater treatment plants, taken between August 2016 and August 2019. Our s les represented 10.6 million people, 45% of the Australian population in state capitals and regional areas in each state or territory. Codeine concentrations were determined by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and converted to per‐capita consumption estimates using the site daily wastewater volume, catchment populations and codeine excretion kinetics. Average per‐capita consumption of codeine decreased by 37% nationally immediately after the rescheduling in February 2018 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 35.3–39.4%] and substantially in all states between 24 and 51% (95% CI = 22.4–27.0% and 41.8–59.4%). The decrease was sustained at the lower level to August 2019. Locations with least pharmacy access decreased by 51% (95% CI = 41.7–61.7%), a greater decrease than 37% observed for those with greater pharmacy access (95% CI = 35.1–39.4%). Regional areas decreased by a smaller margin to cities (32 versus 38%, 95% CI = 30.2–34.1% versus 34.9–40.4%, respectively) from a base per‐capita usage approximately 40% higher than cities. Wastewater analysis shows that codeine consumption in Australia decreased by approximately 37% following its rescheduling as a prescription‐only medicine in 2018. Wastewater‐based epidemiology can be used to evaluate changes in population pharmaceutical consumption in responses to changes in drug scheduling.
Communicating Confidence of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Identification via High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 26-05-2022
Effectiveness of Online Group-mindfulness and Acceptance‐based Therapy and Cognitive-behavioral Therapy on Misophonia
Publisher: Briefland
Date: 18-05-2022
DOI: 10.5812/IJPBS-120159
Abstract: Background: Misophonia is a disorder in which people show negative emotions such as anger, disgust, and anxiety about certain sounds, such as mouth and nose sounds, as well as some repetitive sounds. This disorder has a high prevalence and causes many problems for patients. Objectives: This study aimed to examine and compare the effectiveness of two therapies, including online group-mindfulness and acceptance‐based therapy (OG-MACT) and online group-cognitive-behavioral therapy (OG-CBT) in patients with misophonia. Methods: This study was a two-group random assignment pretest-posttest design. Thirty-eight participants were recruited using convenience s ling and randomly assigned to OG-CBT (n = 19) and OG-MACT (n = 19) groups. The statistical population included patients with misophonia (a score higher than seven on the Misophonia Questionnaire) referred to the Tehran Institute of Psychiatry from October to December 2019. They were asked to respond to online self-report questionnaires evaluating misophonia, distress tolerance, quality of life, depression, anxiety, and stress scale in three stages, including before treatment sessions, one week after the end of sessions, and during a three-month follow-up. Results: The difference in the mean scores of the scales at different times did not differ according to the type of treatment group (OG-CBT versus OG-MACT). The results showed that the effect of time was significant on misophonia scores. Over time, this finding also applies to depression, anxiety, and stress subscales in the distress tolerance questionnaire. However, there was no significant difference in the quality of life over time. The changes in misophonia were clinically significant in 53% of OG-MACT members and 69% of OG-CBT members. Discussion: According to the findings, the two online group therapies of CBT and MACT effectively reduced the symptoms of misophonia.
On-line preconcentration of pharmaceutical residues from large volume water samples using short reversed-phase monolithic cartridges coupled to LC-UV-ESI-MS
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2006
DOI: 10.1016/J.TALANTA.2006.02.026
Abstract: A simplified preconcentration method for a range of ultra-trace level pharmaceuticals in natural waters has been developed. Solid phase extraction was performed on-line using a micro-reversed-phase monolithic silica column, allowing for very rapid trace enrichment from large volume (500ml) s les with minimal s le handling. Acceptable recoveries of >70% were obtained for the majority of compounds investigated and the monolithic columns could be washed and conditioned on-line with no s le carryover and used reproducibly for up to eight extractions each. The on-line SPE-LC-UV method was coupled to electrospray ionisation ion trap mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) to increase both selectivity and specificity. Detection limits were determined in spiked river and tap water s les and found to lie in the low ng/l region using s le volumes of 500ml, loaded at a flow rate of 10ml/min, and therefore, were suitable for ultra trace analysis.
Wastewater surveillance demonstrates high predictive value for COVID-19 infection on board repatriation flights to Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
InSpectra – A Platform for Identifying Emerging Chemical Threats
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 10-03-2023
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-2120496/V2
Abstract: Non-target analysis (NTA) employing high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) coupled with liquid chromatography is increasingly being used to identify chemicals of biological relevance. HRMS datasets are large and complex making the identification of potentially relevant chemicals extremely challenging. As they are recorded in vendor-specific formats, interpreting them is often reliant on vendor-specific software that may not accommodate the advancements in data processing. Here we present InSpectra, a vendor independent automated platform for the systematic detection of newly identified emerging chemical threats. InSpectra is web-based, open-source/access and modular providing highly flexible and extensible NTA and suspect screening workflows. As a cloud-based platform, InSpectra exploits parallel computing and big data archiving capabilities with a focus for sharing and community curation of HRMS data. InSpectra offers a reproducible and transparent approach for the identification, tracking and prioritisation of emerging chemical threats.
InSpectra – A Platform for Identifying Emerging Chemical Threats
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 04-10-2022
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-2120496/V1
Abstract: Non-target analysis (NTA) employing high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) coupled with liquid chromatography is increasingly being used to identify chemicals of biological relevance. HRMS datasets are large and complex making the identification of potentially relevant chemicals extremely challenging. As they are recorded in vendor-specific formats, interpreting them is often reliant on vendor-specific software that may not accommodate the advancements in data processing. Here we present InSpectra , a vendor independent automated platform for the systematic detection of newly identified emerging chemical threats. InSpectra is web-based, open-source/access and modular providing highly flexible and extensible NTA and suspect screening workflows. As a cloud-based platform, InSpectra exploits parallel computing and big data archiving capabilities with a focus for sharing and community curation of HRMS data. InSpectra offers a reproducible and transparent approach for the identification, tracking and prioritisation of emerging chemical threats.
Wastewater treatment plants as a source of plastics in the environment: a review of occurrence, methods for identification, quantification and fate
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00428A
Abstract: Plastics accumulate in the natural environment due to their durability and low recycling volumes.
Occurrence of tire and road wear particles in urban and peri-urban snowbanks, and their potential environmental implications
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.153785
Abstract: According to estimates put forward in multiple studies, tire and road wear particles are one of the largest sources to microplastic contamination in the environment. There are large uncertainties associated with local emissions and transport of tire and road wear particles into environmental compartments, highlighting an urgent need to provide more data on inventories and fluxes of these particles. To our knowledge, the present paper is the first published data on mass concentrations and snow mass load of tire and polymer-modified road wear particles in snow. Roadside snow and meltwater from three different types of roads (peri-urban, urban highway and urban) were analysed by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. Tire particle mass concentrations in snow (76.0-14,500 mg/L meltwater), and snow mass loads (222-109,000 mg/m
Festivals following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions: Prevalence of new psychoactive substances and illicit drugs
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2023
A National Wastewater Monitoring Program for a better understanding of public health: A case study using the Australian Census
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2018.12.003
Abstract: Wastewater contains a large range of biological and chemical markers of human activity and exposures. Through systematic collection and analysis of these markers within wastewater s les it is possible to measure the public health of whole populations. The analysis of effluent and biosolids can also be used to understand the release of chemicals from wastewater treatment plants into the environment. Wastewater analysis and comparison with catchment specific data (e.g. demographics) however remains largely unexplored. This manuscript describes a national wastewater monitoring study that combines influent, effluent and biosolids s ling with the Australian Census. An archiving program allows estimation of per capita exposure to and consumption of chemicals, public health information, as well as per capita release of chemicals into the environment. The paper discusses the study concept, critical steps in setting up a coordinated national approach and key logistical and other considerations with a focus on lessons learnt and future applications. The unique combination of archived s les, analytical data and associated census-derived population data will provide a baseline dataset that has wide and potentially increasing applications across many disciplines that include public health, epidemiology, criminology, toxicology and sociology.
The use of asthma and allergy medicines is associated with exposure to smoking
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-04-2023
New approach for the measurement of long-term alcohol consumption trends: Application of wastewater-based epidemiology in an Australian regional city
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.DRUGALCDEP.2019.107795
Abstract: Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) provides complementary information to traditional self-report methods for estimating substance use within a population. WBE was applied to estimate the consumption of alcohol in an Australian rural city (population estimated 100,000) over 6 years. A total of 352 wastewater s les were analysed from a wastewater treatment plant located in South-East Queensland, Australia, from 2012 to 2017. The concentration of an alcohol biomarker, ethyl sulphate, was quantified by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and used to estimate per-capita consumption. The WBE results were compared with alcohol consumption estimates based on national taxation data and self-reported national survey data in Australia. Average daily alcohol consumption estimated by WBE was between 19 and 30 mL erson/day for the population aged 15 years and older during the six-year period. Alcohol consumption decreased 4 % per annum on average over the study period. Our data showed higher rates of consumption on weekends and public holidays when compared to consumption between Monday and Thursday. The comparative trend of WBE data was consistent with the national alcohol survey and taxation statistics on alcoholic beverages over the same period. A clear decline in alcohol consumption in the catchment was observed during the s ling period, which reflected similar changes in consumption from taxation statistics and self-report survey data. Expected variations in weekly consumption and public holidays were also identified. This study demonstrates the potential of WBE for long-term monitoring of alcohol consumption in evaluating the effectiveness of local and national alcohol policies and prevention programs.
Evaluating the stability of three oxidative stress biomarkers under sewer conditions and potential impact for use in wastewater-based epidemiology
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2019.115068
Abstract: Wastewater contains a wealth of information about the population who contribute to it including biological and chemical markers of human activity and exposures. F
Systematic Evaluation of the In-Sample Stability of Selected Pharmaceuticals, Illicit Drugs, and Their Metabolites in Wastewater
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 20-05-2021
National Wastewater Reconnaissance of Analgesic Consumption in Australia
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 13-01-2023
Wastewater Surveillance Can Function as an Early Warning System for COVID-19 in Low-Incidence Settings
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 31-03-2023
DOI: 10.3390/TROPICALMED8040211
Abstract: Introduction: During the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia implemented a series of international and interstate border restrictions. The state of Queensland experienced limited COVID-19 transmission and relied on lockdowns to stem any emerging COVID-19 outbreaks. However, early detection of new outbreaks was difficult. In this paper, we describe the wastewater surveillance program for SARS-CoV-2 in Queensland, Australia, and report two case studies in which we aimed to assess the potential for this program to provide early warning of new community transmission of COVID-19. Both case studies involved clusters of localised transmission, one originating in a Brisbane suburb (Brisbane Inner West) in July–August 2021, and the other originating in Cairns, North Queensland in February–March 2021. Materials and Methods: Publicly available COVID-19 case data derived from the notifiable conditions (NoCs) registry from the Queensland Health data portal were cleaned and merged spatially with the wastewater surveillance data using statistical area 2 (SA2) codes. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value of wastewater detection for predicting the presence of COVID-19 reported cases were calculated for the two case study sites. Results: Early warnings for local transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through wastewater surveillance were noted in both the Brisbane Inner West cluster and the Cairns cluster. The positive predictive value of wastewater detection for the presence of notified cases of COVID-19 in Brisbane Inner West and Cairns were 71.4% and 50%, respectively. The negative predictive value for Brisbane Inner West and Cairns were 94.7% and 100%, respectively. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the utility of wastewater surveillance as an early warning tool in low COVID-19 transmission settings.
Mass quantification of microplastic at wastewater treatment plants by pyrolysis-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.159251
Abstract: Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a central point of collection of plastic particles from households and industry and for their re-distribution into the environment. Existing studies evaluating levels of plastics in WWTPs, and their removal rates have reported and used data on polymer type, size, shape, colour, and number of plastic particles, while the total mass concentration of plastic particles (especially >1 μm) remains unclear and unknown. To address this knowledge gap, raw influent, effluent, and reference water s les from three WWTPs in Australia were collected to analyse the mass concentrations and removal rates of seven common plastics (>1 μm in size) across the treatment schemes. Quantitative analysis was performed by pressurized liquid extraction followed by pyrolysis coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Results showed that the total plastic content in the WWTPs raw influent s les was between 840 and 3116 μg/L, resulting in an inflow of between about 2.1 and 196.4 kg/day of the total measured plastics. Overall, >99 % by mass of the plastics entering the three WWTPs from the raw influent was removed during the pre-treatment stages, presumably ending up in the sewage sludge, which means emissions (via treated effluent) from the treatment plants are low. Compared with the raw influent, the plastic mass concentrations in the treated effluents (i.e., Class C, A, and final effluent) from the three WWTPs, as well as the reference water s les within their catchments were below the limits of reporting. Of the five quantified plastic types, polyethylene (PE, 76.4 %), and polyvinylchloride (PVC, 21 %) dominated by mass, while polyethylene terephthalate (PET, 1.9 %), polypropylene (PP, 0.4 %) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, 0.3 %) accounted for a small proportion of the total. Overall, this study investigated the mass concentrations of plastic particles above 1 μm in wastewater and their removal, which provided valuable information regarding the pollution level and distribution characteristics of plastic polymers in Australian WWTPs.
Plastics contamination of store-bought rice
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Quantification of selected microplastics in Australian urban road dust
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Using environmental analytical data to estimate levels of community consumption of illicit drugs and abused pharmaceuticals
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1039/B702799K
Abstract: A solid phase extraction (SPE) method has been developed and applied in conjunction with a previously reported liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) procedure for the determination of illicit drugs and abused pharmaceuticals in treated wastewater and surface water s les at the ng L(-1) level. A full method validation was also performed and determined levels of analytical sensitivity were found to lie in the 1-10 ng L(-1) range using river water as a test s le matrix and a s le size of 500 mL. The developed procedure was successfully applied for the determination of the chosen analytes in wastewater treatment plants in Dublin, Ireland and rapidly expanding commuter towns in the surrounding counties. Cocaine was detected in 70% of the collected s les in the range of 25-489 ng L(-1), its primary metabolite, benzoylecognine (BZE) was also detected in the range of 22-290 ng L(-1). Other substances detected included morphine, Tempazepam and the primary metabolite of methadone.
Artificial Cell Encapsulation for Biomaterials and Tissue Bio-Nanoengineering: History, Achievements, Limitations, and Future Work for Potential Clinical Applications and Transplantation
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 30-11-2021
DOI: 10.3390/JFB12040068
Abstract: Pancreatic β-cell loss and failure with subsequent deficiency of insulin production is the hallmark of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and late-stage type 2 diabetes (T2D). Despite the availability of parental insulin, serious complications of both types are profound and endemic. One approach to therapy and a potential cure is the immunoisolation of β cells via artificial cell microencapsulation (ACM), with ongoing promising results in human and animal studies that do not depend on immunosuppressive regimens. However, significant challenges remain in the formulation and delivery platforms and potential immunogenicity issues. Additionally, the level of impact on key metabolic and disease biomarkers and long-term benefits from human and animal studies stemming from the encapsulation and delivery of these cells is a subject of continuing debate. The purpose of this review is to summarise key advances in this field of islet transplantation using ACM and to explore future strategies, limitations, and hurdles as well as upcoming developments utilising bioengineering and current clinical trials.
Performance- and image-enhancing drug use in the community: use prevalence, user demographics and the potential role of wastewater-based epidemiology
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2021
Wastewater-based prevalence trends of gout in an Australian community over a period of 8 years
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
One planet: one health. A call to support the initiative on a global science–policy body on chemicals and waste
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-03-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S12302-022-00602-6
Abstract: The chemical pollution crisis severely threatens human and environmental health globally. To tackle this challenge the establishment of an overarching international science–policy body has recently been suggested. We strongly support this initiative based on the awareness that humanity has already likely left the safe operating space within planetary boundaries for novel entities including chemical pollution. Immediate action is essential and needs to be informed by sound scientific knowledge and data compiled and critically evaluated by an overarching science–policy interface body. Major challenges for such a body are (i) to foster global knowledge production on exposure, impacts and governance going beyond data-rich regions (e.g., Europe and North America), (ii) to cover the entirety of hazardous chemicals, mixtures and wastes, (iii) to follow a one-health perspective considering the risks posed by chemicals and waste on ecosystem and human health, and (iv) to strive for solution-oriented assessments based on systems thinking. Based on multiple evidence on urgent action on a global scale, we call scientists and practitioners to mobilize their scientific networks and to intensify science–policy interaction with national governments to support the negotiations on the establishment of an intergovernmental body based on scientific knowledge explaining the anticipated benefit for human and environmental health.
Release of Plastics to Australian Land from Biosolids End-Use.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 17-11-2020
Concentrations of Tire Additive Chemicals and Tire Road Wear Particles in an Australian Urban Tributary
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 31-01-2022
Abstract: Tire road wear particles (TRWPs) are one of the largest sources of microplastics to the urban environment with recent concerns as they also provide a pathway for additive chemicals to leach into the environment. Stormwater is a major source of TRWPs and associated additives to urban surface water, with additives including the antioxidant derivative
Spatio‐temporal assessment of illicit drug use at large scale: evidence from 7 years of international wastewater monitoring
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-10-2019
DOI: 10.1111/ADD.14767
Naive Bayes classification model for isotopologue detection in LC-HRMS data
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 03-11-2021
DOI: 10.26434/CHEMRXIV-2021-V7V6G
Abstract: Isotopologue identification or removal is a necessary step to reduce the number of features that need to be identified in s les analyzed with non-targeted analysis. Currently available approaches rely on either predicted isotopic patterns or an arbitrary mass tolerance, requiring information on the molecular formula or instrumental error, respectively. Therefore, a Naive Bayes isotopologue classification model was developed that does not depend on any thresholds or molecular formula information. This classification model uses elemental mass defects of six elemental ratios and can successfully identify isotopologues in both theoretical isotopic patterns and wastewater influent s les, outperforming one of the most commonly used approaches (i.e., 1.0033 Da mass difference method - CAMERA).
Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater: Methods optimization and quality control are crucial for generating reliable public health information
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Plastics in biosolids from 1950 to 2016: A function of global plastic production and consumption
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Response to Comment on “Quantitative Analysis of Selected Plastics in High-Commercial-Value Australian Seafood by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry”
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 16-11-2020
Calibration of a microporous polyethylene tube passive sampler for polar organic compounds in wastewater effluent
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2023
Visualization of the Distribution of PFOS and PFHxS in Concrete by DESI MSI
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 19-04-2023
Short Depuration of Oysters Intended for Human Consumption Is Effective at Reducing Exposure to Nanoplastics.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 16-11-2022
Abstract: Nanoplastics (NPs <1 μm) have greater availability to marine organisms than microplastics (1-5000 μm). Understanding NP uptake and depuration in marine organisms intended for human consumption is imperative for food safety, but until now it has been limited due to analytical constraints. Oysters (
In-sewer stability of selected analgesics and their metabolites
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2021
Efficient Removal of Perfluorinated Chemicals from Contaminated Water Sources Using Magnetic Fluorinated Polymer Sorbents
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-11-2022
Abstract: Efficient removal of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from contaminated waters is urgently needed to safeguard public and environmental health. In this work, novel magnetic fluorinated polymer sorbents were designed to allow efficient capture of PFAS and fast magnetic recovery of the sorbed material. The new sorbent has superior PFAS removal efficiency compared with the commercially available activated carbon and ion‐exchange resins. The removal of the ammonium salt of hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (GenX) reaches % within 30 s, and the estimated sorption capacity was 219 mg g −1 based on the Langmuir model. Robust and efficient regeneration of the magnetic polymer sorbent was confirmed by the repeated sorption and desorption of GenX over four cycles. The sorption of multiple PFAS in two real contaminated water matrices at an environmentally relevant concentration (1 ppb) shows % removal for the majority of PFAS tested in this study.
Wastewater-based estimation of the prevalence of gout in Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2020
Identification and quantification of selected plastics in biosolids by pressurized liquid extraction combined with double-shot pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectrometry
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2020
A revised excretion factor for estimating ketamine consumption by wastewater-based epidemiology – Utilising wastewater and seizure data
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2020
Road de-icing salt: Assessment of a potential new source and pathway of microplastics particles from roads
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Young population consume twice as much artificial sweetener than the general population – A wastewater-based assessment in China
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.156200
Abstract: Understanding artificial sweetener consumption patterns and levels in different demographics is important for formulating public health policies on controlling sugar consumption. There is a considerable knowledge gap with respect to the pattern of artificial sweetener consumption in China. To narrow this gap, wastewater analysis was used to assess the temporal patterns of consumption of seven artificial sweeteners in an urban population and a university town in a megacity in South China over a one-year period. Daily influent wastewater s les were collected from an urban catchment and weekly s les collected from a university sub-catchment. Population normalized per capita consumption of the four detected artificial sweeteners (cyclamate, acesulfame, sucralose and saccharin) in the university catchment (1.0-5.9 mg d
Novel Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Discovered in Cattle Exposed to AFFF-Impacted Groundwater
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 30-08-2023
Trends in nicotine consumption between 2010 and 2017 in an Australian city using the wastewater-based epidemiology approach
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2019.01.053
Abstract: Monitoring smoking prevalence is key to assessing responses to tobacco control measures, and evaluating associated health and economic costs. Estimates of tobacco consumed in Australia are based on various data sources - tax excise clearances, sales, and self-report surveys. There are limitations with each of these data sources which makes triangulation of cigarette use estimates by multiple methods important. Wastewater-based epidemiology, the systematic s ling and analysis of wastewater, is now a routine method to measure and monitor human exposure to a range of chemicals. This study provides a high frequency long-term temporal assessment of exposure to nicotine, the main addictive component of tobacco, using this approach. 291 archived wastewater s les collected from a regional city catchment from 2010 to 2017 were analysed for human-specific nicotine metabolites (cotinine and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine), to estimate per capita nicotine use. Temporal trends in nicotine use determined by wastewater-based epidemiology were compared with national sales and survey data. Wastewater analysis showed a 25% reduction in the mean number of cigarette equivalents consumed from 2010 to 2017, representing a 3% annual decline. These findings are in good agreement with estimates based on surveys and sales data, indicating annual declines of 5% and 4%, respectively. Findings of this study demonstrate WBE to be a relatively cost-effective and objective approach to reporting long-term data on nicotine consumption. When combined with alternative data sources, and valuable sociodemographic information of surveys, wastewater-based epidemiology helps to refine our estimates and understanding of the total impacts of smoking.
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in commercial passenger aircraft and cruise ship wastewater: a surveillance tool for assessing the presence of COVID-19 infected travellers
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-2020
DOI: 10.1093/JTM/TAAA116
Abstract: Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can be an important source of information for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) management during and after the pandemic. Currently, governments and transportation industries around the world are developing strategies to minimize SARS-CoV-2 transmission associated with resuming activity. This study investigated the possible use of SARS-CoV-2 RNA wastewater surveillance from airline and cruise ship sanitation systems and its potential use as a COVID-19 public health management tool. Aircraft and cruise ship wastewater s les (n = 21) were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using two virus concentration methods, adsorption–extraction by electronegative membrane (n = 13) and ultrafiltration by Amicon (n = 8), and five assays using reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and RT-droplet digital PCR (RT-ddPCR). Representative qPCR licons from positive s les were sequenced to confirm assay specificity. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in s les from both aircraft and cruise ship wastewater however concentrations were near the assay limit of detection. The analysis of multiple replicate s les and use of multiple RT-qPCR and/or RT-ddPCR assays increased detection sensitivity and minimized false-negative results. Representative qPCR licons were confirmed for the correct PCR product by sequencing. However, differences in sensitivity were observed among molecular assays and concentration methods. The study indicates that surveillance of wastewater from large transport vessels with their own sanitation systems has potential as a complementary data source to prioritize clinical testing and contact tracing among disembarking passengers. Importantly, s ling methods and molecular assays must be further optimized to maximize detection sensitivity. The potential for false negatives by both wastewater testing and clinical swab testing suggests that the two strategies could be employed together to maximize the probability of detecting SARS-CoV-2 infections amongst passengers.
Assessing patterns of illicit drug use in a Chinese city by analyzing daily wastewater samples over a one-year period
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2021
Detection of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV-2 in aircraft wastewater
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2022
A nationwide wastewater-based assessment of metformin consumption across Australia.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2022.107282
Abstract: Metformin is the most widely used drug to treat type 2 diabetes. Monitoring spatial patterns of metformin use could provide new insights into treatment of type 2 diabetes and the distribution among populations. This study applied a wastewater-based epidemiological (WBE) approach to estimate metformin use in different populations across Australia and compared these estimates with traditional approaches of surveys and prescription data. Twenty-four-hour influent s les were collected from 75 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across Australia in 2016 and analysed for metformin. Metformin was detected in all s les ranging in concentration from 8.2 to 191 µg/L (median 58 µg/L). Concentrations were converted to population-weighted average consumption at the national level, resulting in an average consumption of 28.6 g/day/1000 people across Australia, which was within 7% of estimates from national prescription statistics. In addition, results for five out of seven states had an estimated prevalence of type 2 diabetes within 20% compared to the traditional epidemiology surveys. Spatial patterns were also observed between urban and rural settings, with higher consumption rates of metformin found in Major Cities (22.5 ± 10.9 g/d/1000 people) and Inner Regional cities (25.4 ± 13.4 g/d/1000 people) than in Outer Regional (17.0 ± 8.1 g/d/1000 people) and Remote areas (15.1 ± 7.4 g/d/1000 people). Consumption estimates were also correlated against socioeconomic factors of the specific catchment areas. Greater metformin use was correlated with populations of lower education and income levels, while positive correlations were found between metformin consumption and consumption of allopurinol, caffeine and venlafaxine. Our study provides more evidence on the distribution of metformin use across Australia, which can be used to develop public health strategies to reduce the overall burden of type 2 diabetes in specific regions.
Trends in artificial sweetener consumption: A 7-year wastewater-based epidemiology study in Queensland, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2021
InSpectra – A platform for identifying emerging chemical threats
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2023
SARS-CoV-2 RNA monitoring in wastewater as a potential early warning system for COVID-19 transmission in the community: A temporal case study
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
Correction to Quantitative Analysis of Selected Plastics in High-Commercial-Value Australian Seafood by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 05-10-2020
Minimizing errors in RT-PCR detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for wastewater surveillance
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2022
Wastewater-based monitoring could help guide responses to the USA opioid epidemic
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-05-2023
A wastewater‐based assessment of the impact of a minimum unit price (MUP) on population alcohol consumption in the Northern Territory, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-07-2021
DOI: 10.1111/ADD.15631
Abstract: To test if there was a reduction in alcohol consumption in wastewater s les in the Northern Territory of Australia after the implementation of a minimum unit alcohol price policy (MUP) in October 2018. Between August 2016 and February 2020, wastewater s les were collected across 66 sites in the Northern Territory and all other states and territories in Australia. S les were collected every 2 months in capital cities and every 4 months in regional places during this period. Overall, 4917 s les were taken (2816 before MUP and 2101 after). The number of standard drinks per 1000 people per day in the respective catchment areas was estimated based on the concentration of an alcohol‐specific metabolite, ethyl sulphate in the s les (using the excretion factor of ethyl sulphate, the flow of wastewater entering the wastewater treatment plants and the population of each wastewater catchment). Results from a linear mixed model showed that there was a large drop in alcohol consumption immediately after the MUP in Northern Territory [estimated drop = 1231, 99% confidence interval (CI) = 830, 1633 38.75%]. There was no significant drop in all other states/territories except for Queensland, which showed a significant but much smaller drop (estimated drop: 310 99% CI = 114, 550). One year after the MUP, the drop narrowed to 520 (99% CI = 189, 851) and was no longer statistically significant in February 2020 (15 months after MUP estimated drop = 283, 99% CI = −114, 681). Per‐capita consumption of alcohol appears to have decreased substantially in the Northern Territory of Australia immediately after the implementation of a minimum unit price but consumption steadily recovered and almost returned to the pre‐MUP consumption level after 15 months.
Exploring drug consumption patterns across varying levels of remoteness in Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2023
New psychoactive substances: challenges for drug surveillance, control, and public health responses
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2019
Wastewater-based epidemiology biomarkers: past, present and future
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2018
Towards an efficient method for the extraction and analysis of cannabinoids in wastewater
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2020
Predicted Growth in Plastics Entering Biosolids and Agricultural Lands Exceeds Efforts to Control Source Emissions
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 11-07-2023
Critical Assessment of the Chemical Space Covered by LC–HRMS Non-Targeted Analysis
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 13-09-2023
Socioeconomic status and public health in Australia: A wastewater-based study
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVINT.2022.107436
Abstract: Analysis of untreated municipal wastewater is recognized as an innovative approach to assess population exposure to or consumption of various substances. Currently, there are no published wastewater-based studies investigating the relationships between catchment social, demographic, and economic characteristics with chemicals using advanced non-targeted techniques. In this study, fifteen wastewater s les covering 27% of the Australian population were collected during a population Census. The s les were analysed with a workflow employing liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry and chemometric tools for non-target analysis. Socioeconomic characteristics of catchment areas were generated using Geospatial Information Systems software. Potential correlations were explored between pseudo-mass loads of the identified compounds and socioeconomic and demographic descriptors of the wastewater catchments derived from Census data. Markers of public health (e.g., cardiac arrhythmia, cardiovascular disease, anxiety disorder and type 2 diabetes) were identified in the wastewater s les by the proposed workflow. They were positively correlated with descriptors of disadvantage in education, occupation, marital status and income, and negatively correlated with descriptors of advantage in education and occupation. In addition, markers of polypropylene glycol (PPG) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) related compounds were positively correlated with housing and occupation disadvantage. High positive correlations were found between separated and orced people and specific drugs used to treat cardiac arrhythmia, cardiovascular disease, and depression. Our robust non-targeted methodology in combination with Census data can identify relationships between biomarkers of public health, human behaviour and lifestyle and socio-demographics of whole populations. Furthermore, it can identify specific areas and socioeconomic groups that may need more assistance than others for public health issues. This approach complements important public health information and enables large-scale national coverage with a relatively small number of s les.
Plastic particles in soil: state of the knowledge on sources, occurrence and distribution, analytical methods and ecological impacts
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1039/D0EM00312C
Abstract: Increased production and use of plastics has resulted in growth in the amount of plastic debris accumulating in the environment, potentially fragmenting into smaller pieces.
Tyre additive chemicals, tyre road wear particles and high production polymers in surface water at 5 urban centres in Queensland, Australia.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.158468
Abstract: Plastics pollution is a global issue impacting every part of our environment. Tyre road wear particle (TRWP) plastics pollution is thought to be one of the largest pollution sources in urban environments. These plastics are also of concern due to the presence of additive chemicals, incorporated during manufacture, that can be released into the surrounding environment. This study aimed to provide information on concentrations of a range of anthropogenic plastics related pollutants in the Australian environment through a scoping study of surface water in 5 key urban centres around Queensland, Australia. S les were analysed for a suite of 15 common tyre additive chemicals, TRWPs and 6 common high production polymers, and included the new transformation product of concern 6PPD-quinone which has recent reports of causing mass mortality events in certain aquatic species. The additives were ubiquitously detected (2.9-1440 ng/L) with 6PPD-quinone concentrations lower than in previous studies (<0.05-24 ng/L) and TRWPs detected at 18 of the 21 sites (<MDL to between 690 and 1990 μg/L). Of the high production polymers, polyethylene and polypropylene were detected at the highest concentrations (16-1750 and <0.7-37 μg/L respectively) with profiles highly variable between sites. A traffic related additive profile was determined at 7 sites, which all had nearby traffic related sources. Concentrations of additive chemicals were significantly correlated with average daily traffic volumes (p = 0.006), although concentrations of TRWPs were not correlated. Generally, concentrations were in line with or lower than concentrations in other geographical regions, although it is noted s les were collected during the dry season and further s ling during the tropical wet season would be of interest.
Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in sewersheds with low COVID-19 cases using a passive sampling technique
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
Identification and Quantification of Micro-Bioplastics in Environmental Samples by Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 21-09-2022
Abstract: Bioplastics are materials that are biobased and/or biodegradable, but not necessarily both. Concerns about environmental plastic pollution are constantly growing with increasing demand for substituting fossil-based plastics with those made using renewable resource feedstocks. For many conventional bioplastics to completely decompose/degrade, they require specific environmental conditions that are rarely met in natural ecosystems, leading to rapid formation of micro-bioplastics. As global bioplastic production and consumption/use continue to increase, there is growing concern regarding the potential for environmental pollution from micro-bioplastics. However, the actual extent of their environmental occurrence and potential impacts remains unclear, and there is insufficient mass concentration-based quantitative data due to the lack of quantitative analytical methods. This study developed and validated an analytical method coupling pressurized liquid extraction and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with thermochemolysis to simultaneously identify and quantify five targeted micro-bioplastics (i.e., polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate, polybutylene succinate, polycaprolactone, and polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT)) in environmental s les on a polymer-specific mass-based concentration. The recovery of spiked micro-bioplastics in environmental s les (biosolids) ranged from 74 to 116%. The limits of quantification for the target micro-bioplastics were between 0.02 and 0.05 mg/g. PLA and PBAT were commonly detected in wastewater, biosolids, and sediment s les at concentrations between 0.07 and 0.18 mg/g. The presented analytical method enables the accurate identification, quantification, and monitoring of micro-bioplastics in environmental s les. This study quantified five micro-bioplastic types in complex environmental s les for the first time, filling in gaps in our knowledge about bioplastic pollution and providing a useful methodology and important reference data for future research.
Exploring the Potential of a Global Emerging Contaminant Early Warning Network through the Use of Retrospective Suspect Screening with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 04-04-2018
Abstract: A key challenge in the environmental and exposure sciences is to establish experimental evidence of the role of chemical exposure in human and environmental systems. High resolution and accurate tandem mass spectrometry (HRMS) is increasingly being used for the analysis of environmental s les. One lauded benefit of HRMS is the possibility to retrospectively process data for (previously omitted) compounds that has led to the archiving of HRMS data. Archived HRMS data affords the possibility of exploiting historical data to rapidly and effectively establish the temporal and spatial occurrence of newly identified contaminants through retrospective suspect screening. We propose to establish a global emerging contaminant early warning network to rapidly assess the spatial and temporal distribution of contaminants of emerging concern in environmental s les through performing retrospective analysis on HRMS data. The effectiveness of such a network is demonstrated through a pilot study, where eight reference laboratories with available archived HRMS data retrospectively screened data acquired from aqueous environmental s les collected in 14 countries on 3 different continents. The widespread spatial occurrence of several surfactants (e.g., polyethylene glycols ( PEGs ) and C12AEO-PEGs ), transformation products of selected drugs (e.g., gabapentin-lactam, metoprolol-acid, carbamazepine-10-hydroxy, omeprazole-4-hydroxy-sulfide, and 2-benzothiazole-sulfonic-acid), and industrial chemicals (3-nitrobenzenesulfonate and bisphenol-S) was revealed. Obtaining identifications of increased reliability through retrospective suspect screening is challenging, and recommendations for dealing with issues such as broad chromatographic peaks, data acquisition, and sensitivity are provided.
Urea hydrolysis and long-term storage of source-separated urine for reuse as fertiliser is insufficient for the removal of anthropogenic micropollutants
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2022.118891
Abstract: Human and animal source-separated urine, stored and allowed to naturally hydrolyse (the bio-catalysed transformation of urea to ammonia and bicarbonate), has been used for millennia as a fertiliser in agriculture. In a context of growing water scarcity and climate uncertainty, source-separation of urine is facing a strong revival thanks to the emergence of cost-effective waterless collection systems. Concomitantly, urine source-separation can be used as a method for nutrient recovery and subsequent reuse. In its simplest form, such recovery consists of collection followed by urea hydrolysis and storage as sole treatment. Numerous guidelines, including by the World Health Organisation, consider that this is sufficient to stabilise the nutrients and inactivate any potential pathogens in the urine. However, it is still unclear whether said urine is effectively free from other compounds of concern, such as anthropogenic micropollutants with known toxicological effects. Moreover, it is also currently unknown if the metabolites produced by human consumption of these products behave in similar way during short- and long-term storage i.e. whether any changes in chemical structure mean that these could be sorbed and/or precipitated in a different way, or if they can potentially be degraded by the biomass inherently present in urine collection systems. Finally, there is currently no knowledge of whether the observed concentrations of micropollutants in stored hydrolysed urine could potentially have toxicological effects if/when applied to soils and edible crops. To fill these research gaps, 20 commonly consumed compounds were selected in this study and their concentrations in the liquid and solid phases studied in the short- and long-term (up to ≥ 2 years). During the initial process of urea hydrolysis (≤ 5 days), ethyl-glucuronide was the sole compound effectively removed (by deconjugation), while only two other compounds, erythromycin and its metabolite, saw a reduction in their concentration (likely due to biomass sorption). Subsequently, during early storage (≤ 15 days), only three additional compounds were removed: paracetamol (> 99%), acesulfame (11.5%) and carbamazepine-10,11 epoxide (40.7%). Finally, long-term storage of up to 24 months did not result in any further significant removal for any of the measured compounds, indicating that the procedure of hydrolysis + storage is not effective for the removal of anthropogenic micropollutants. The results of this investigation raise strong concerns about the direct reuse of hydrolysed/stored human source-separated urine, and evidence the need for post-processing before implementation as fertiliser into edible crops due to the inherent toxicological risk, particularly to infants.
Impact of COVID-19 controls on the use of illicit drugs and alcohol in Australia
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 10-08-2021
Dual gradient LC method for the determination of pharmaceutical residues in environmental samples using a monolithic silica reversed phase column
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 15-06-2006
A novel method for the quantification of tire and polymer-modified bitumen particles in environmental samples by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectroscopy
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.JHAZMAT.2021.127092
Abstract: Tire and road wear particles may constitute the largest source of microplastic particles into the environment. Quantification of these particles are associated with large uncertainties which are in part due to inadequate analytical methods. New methodology is presented in this work to improve the analysis of tire and road wear particles using pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry of styrene butadiene styrene, a component of polymer-modified bitumen used on road asphalt, produces pyrolysis products identical to those of styrene butadiene rubber and butadiene rubber, which are used in tires. The proposed method uses multiple marker compounds to measure the combined mass of these rubbers in s les and includes an improved step of calculating the amount of tire and road based on the measured rubber content and site-specific traffic data. The method provides good recoveries of 83-92% for a simple matrix (tire) and 88-104% for a complex matrix (road sediment). The validated method was applied to urban snow, road-side soil and gully-pot sediment s les. Concentrations of tire particles in these s les ranged from 0.1 to 17.7 mg/mL (snow) to 0.6-68.3 mg/g (soil/sediment). The concentration of polymer-modified bitumen ranged from 0.03 to 0.42 mg/mL (snow) to 1.3-18.1 mg/g (soil/sediment).
In-Sample Stability of 52 Performance- and Image-Enhancing Drug Biomarkers in Wastewater
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 10-02-2023
Airborne emissions of microplastic fibres from domestic laundry dryers
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2020.141175
Abstract: An emission source of microplastics into the environment is laundering synthetic textiles and clothing. Mechanical drying as a pathway for emitting microplastics, however, is poorly understood. In this study, emissions of microplastic fibres were s led from a domestic vented dryer to assess whether mechanical drying of synthetic textiles releases microplastic fibres into the surrounding air or are captured by the inbuilt filtration system. A blue polyester fleece blanket was repeatedly washed and dried using the 'Normal Dry' program of a common domestic dryer operated at temperatures between 56 and 59 °C for 20 min. Microfibres in the ambient air and during operation of the dryer were s led and analysed using microscopy for particle quantification and characterisation followed by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Pyr-GC/MS) for chemical characterisation. Blue fibres averaged 6.4 ± 9.2 fibres in the room blank (0.17 ± 0.27 fibres/m
A pilot wastewater‐based epidemiology assessment of anabolic steroid use in Queensland, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-05-2019
DOI: 10.1002/DTA.2591
Abstract: Anabolic-androgenic steroids are synthetic compounds prohibited due to their performance-enhancing characteristics. The use of these substances is known to cause health-related issues, which highlights the importance of being able to evaluate the scale of consumption by the general population. However, most available research on the analysis of anabolic steroids is focused on animals and athletes in connection with doping. The potential of wastewater-based epidemiology as an intelligence tool for the assessment of community level use of anabolic steroids is presented herein. A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the analysis of 10 anabolic-androgenic steroids and 14 endogenous hormones in influent wastewater. The validated method was applied to sixteen 24-hour composite wastewater influent s les that were collected over a period of five years from two wastewater treatment plants in Queensland, Australia. Nine investigated compounds were found to be present at concentrations between 14 and 611 ng L
Semiquantitative Characterization of Bromo-chloro Paraffins and Olefins in the Australian Environment
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 17-08-2022
Abstract: A semiquantitative high-resolution mass spectrometry method was developed and applied to assess the occurrence of bromo-/chloro paraffins (BCPs) and olefins (BCOs) in the environment. More than 400 possible BCPs and BCO congener groups were detected in dust, air, and sewage sludge s les collected from Australia. Median chain analytes with the number of halogen atoms <7 (C
Phthalate esters in face masks and associated inhalation exposure risk
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.JHAZMAT.2021.127001
Abstract: This study assessed the composition of single-use face mask materials, quantified the concentration of phthalate esters in masks and evaluated associated inhalation exposure risk. All the mask s les, including 12 surgical and four N95/P1/P2 masks, were identified to be made of polypropylene, with polyethylene terephthalate present in the N95/P1/P2 masks. Di-methyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, di-ethyl phthalate, di-isobutyl phthalate and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate were frequently detected and their concentration summed up 55 ± 35 ~ 1700 ± 140 ng per surgical mask and 2300 ± 150 ~ 5200 ± 800 ng per N95/P1/P2 mask. Our simulation experiment suggested a mean loss of 13 - 71% of phthalate mass depending on compounds, during 5-hour wearing of these masks. This resulted in an estimated daily intake of in idual compounds no higher than 20 ng/kg/day for adults and 120 ng/kg/day for toddlers, which were at least 80 times lower compared to relevant tolerable daily intake values. Two interventional trials were conducted where a volunteer wore a mask for four hours and urine s les were collected before and after the mask wearing. No obvious increase was observed for the urinary concentration of any phthalate metabolite, indicating minimal contribution to overall exposure to phthalate esters.
There's something in the air: A review of sources, prevalence and behaviour of microplastics in the atmosphere
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2023
Challenges with Quantifying Tire Road Wear Particles: Recognizing the Need for Further Refinement of the ISO Technical Specification
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 13-01-2021
Is rotator cuff related shoulder pain a multidimensional disorder? An exploratory study
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Date: 13-01-2020
Abstract: Rotator cuff related shoulder pain has been associated with factors from multiple dimensions such as strength changes, psychosocial measures, comorbidities and level of education. However, to date little research has been undertaken to evaluate which factors explain the greatest variance in pain and disability levels in people with rotator cuff related shoulder pain. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate which multidimensional examination findings were associated with higher pain and disability in a primary care cohort with rotator cuff related shoulder pain. This was an exploratory cross-sectional cohort study. Sixty-seven participants with rotator cuff related shoulder pain were assessed for: pain intensity, disability demographic, psychological, social and lifestyle characteristics, and isometric strength of shoulder internal and external rotator muscles. Univariable associations between pain intensity/disability and each variable were assessed using linear regression. Variables with univariable associations ( p 0.1) were entered into backwards stepwise multivariable regression models. The multivariable model for pain intensity included sleep and perceived persistence and explained 46.5% of the variance (37.6% uniquely by sleep, 5.4% uniquely by perceived persistence). The multivariable model for disability included sleep and sex and explained 26.8% of the variance (4.5% shared by predictors, 16.4% uniquely by sleep, 5.9% uniquely by sex). Rotator cuff-related shoulder pain and disability are associated with sleep disturbance, perceived symptom persistence and sex. Rotator cuff related shoulder pain may be considered a multidimensional disorder. Clinicians need to evaluate sleep and perceived symptom persistence in people with rotator cuff related shoulder pain. Future research may examine whether management strategies for RCRSP directed towards these factors afford improved treatment outcomes.
Urinary concentrations of bisphenols in the australian population and their association with the per capita mass loads in wastewater
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 29-07-2020
The measurement of food safety and security risks associated with micro- and nanoplastic pollution
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2023
Considerations for assessing stability of wastewater-based epidemiology biomarkers using biofilm-free and sewer reactor tests
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.136228
Abstract: Wastewater-based epidemiology is an increasingly popular method for analysing drugs or metabolites excreted by populations. The in-sewer transformation of biomarkers is important but often receives little consideration in published studies. Many studies publish stability under biofilm-free conditions only, which do not represent actual sewer conditions. This study aims to fill a gap in the field by comparing the wastewater stability of 33 licit drug and pharmaceutical biomarkers in biofilm-free (BFF) conditions to stability in sewer biofilm reactors. All but one biomarker was stable under BFF conditions, whereas most transformed in sewer biofilm reactors. Sewer reactor results tended to overestimate the degradation in pilot and actual sewers, whereas BFF stability had no clear relationship to stability in pilot and actual sewers. Our results provide additional basis for more informed interpretation of biofilm-free and sewer reactor stability results for past and future WBE studies.
Do food and stress biomarkers work for wastewater-based epidemiology? A critical evaluation
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2020
Refining the estimation of amphetamine consumption by wastewater-based epidemiology
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2022.119182
Abstract: Consumption of hetamine and meth hetamine, two common illicit drugs, has been monitored by wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) in many countries over the past decade. There is potential for the estimated amount of hetamine used to be skewed at locations where meth hetamine is also consumed, because hetamine is also excreted to wastewater following meth hetamine consumption. The present study aims to review the available data in the literature to identify an average ratio of hetamine/meth hetamine (AMP/METH) that is excreted to wastewater after meth hetamine consumption. This ratio could then be used to refine the estimation of hetamine consumption in catchments where there is both hetamine and meth hetamine use. Using data from more than 6000 wastewater s les from Australia where meth hetamine is the dominant illicit hetamine-type substance on the market, we were able to subtract the contribution of legal sources of hetamine contribution and obtain the median AMP/METH ratio in wastewater of 0.09. Using this value, the hetamine derived from meth hetamine consumption can be calculated and subtracted from the total hetamine mass loads in wastewater s les. Without considering the contribution of hetamine from meth hetamine use, selected European catchments with comparable consumption of hetamine and meth hetamine showed up to 83% overestimation of hetamine use. For catchments with AMP/METH ratio greater than 1.00, the impact of hetamine from meth hetamine would be negligible for catchments with AMP/METH ratio in the range of 0.04-0.19, it will be difficult to accurately estimate hetamine consumption.
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