Identification of 3-(trifluoromethyl)phenol as the malodorous compound in a pollution incident in the water supply in Catalonia (N.E. Spain).

A study of organic compounds that caused a serious taste and odor episode of water supply in two residential areas in Catalonia (N.E. Spain) was carried out. Sweet and paint/solvent odor were the main descriptors used by consumers. Some cases of sickness and nausea were also associated with drinking water consumption by the consumers. Closed-loop stripping analysis (CLSA) combined with sensory gas chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectrometry detection were used to study the problem. As a result, 3-(trifluoromethyl)phenol (CAS number 98-17-9) was for the first time identified as a responsible of an odor incident in drinking water. Concentration levels of this compound were up to 17,000 ng/L in groundwater and up to 600 ng/L in distributed water. Odor threshold in water for 3-(trifluoromethyl)phenol was determined as 13 ng/L (45 °C).

Dioxanes and dioxolanes in source waters: Occurrence, odor thresholds and behavior through upgraded conventional and advanced processes in a drinking water treatment plant.

Over the last years, the human probable carcinogen 1,4-dioxane and alkyl-1,3-dioxanes and dioxolanes have been detected and identified as the cause of several pollution episodes in the Llobregat River (Catalonia, NE Spain) and its aquifer. It is an issue of major concern to study these compounds which are released to the environment by resin manufacturing plants' spills and wastewater discharges spread along rivers and reach drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in order to protect the environment and public health. In this study four seasonal sampling campaigns were carried out over a year to determine the removal efficiency of the dioxanes and dioxolanes at each step of a DWTP including ozonation, granular activated carbon filters, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis step's treatments. Additionally, a weekly sampling monitoring of 1,4-dioxane and alkyl-1,3-dioxanes and dioxolanes in raw water, groundwater and finished water was performed at a DWTP over more than two years. Aqueous odor concentration thresholds (OTCs) were established by the three-alternative forced choice method (3-AFC). Following a previous published methodology, samples were analyzed and results showed that the advanced treatment (Ultrafiltration followed by reverse osmosis) line removes more efficiently 1,4-dioxane, alkyl dioxanes and dioxolanes (80 ±â€¯6% for 1,4-dioxane, 97 ±â€¯7% for 5,5-DMD and 100 ±â€¯0% for 2,5,5-TMD) than the upgraded conventional treatment line (ozonation followed by granular activated carbon filters) (-12 ±â€¯50%, 25 ±â€¯62% and 50 ±â€¯51% respectively), where some desorption processes were eventually observed. From the monitoring study, results suggest that the presence of 1,4-dioxane is not only due to spills, but also from other sources of contamination. Whereas dioxolanes almost completely disappeared in time, 1,4-dioxane's concentrations remained low and fluctuant. A background concentration of 1,4-dioxane in surface waters (∼1 µg/L) has been determined with a relevant concentration up to 11.6 µg/L of 1,4-dioxane in groundwater. The perception values for some of the studied compounds were extremely low (few ng/L only), which confirms the relevancy of this group of compounds as malodorous agents in waters.

Medically-derived radionuclides levels in seven heterogeneous urban wastewater treatment plants: The role of operating conditions and catchment area.

In nuclear medicine radionuclides are administered to patients both for diagnosis or treatment. Subsequently, the excreta from patients, enriched in radionuclides, enter the sewerage networks and reach wastewater treatment plants (TPs). Characterization of inflow wastewaters, sewage effluents and sewage sludges in the seven different urban WWTPs in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (BMA) has been done and 131I, 99mTc, 111In, 67Ga and 123I concentrations were determined by gamma-spectroscopy. In order to explain the diversity of nuclear medicine short-lived radionuclide concentrations found in the BMA, mean sewage sludge ages and wastewater hydraulic retention times were determined, NM services located and patient management guidelines described. Results were found to vary greatly among the different TPs in inflow wastewaters, sewage effluents and sewage sludges. 131I and 99mTc activity concentrations showed the highest values in most of the inflow wastewaters, sewage effluents and sewage sludges. In the integrated analysis of the present findings, a large-sized TP (320,000 m3/d) from the BMA urban wastewater treatment system shows higher levels and detection frequencies of medically-derived radionuclides. The maximums detected in the sludges from this TP, are partly explained by the relatively low sewage sludge ages. Furthermore, inflow wastewater hydraulic retention times and sludge ages in the TPs are long enough for decay of the short-lived nuclear medicine radionuclides studied (t1/2 ≤ 8d) in such a way that TPs work as abatement systems and decrease the levels of radioactivity both in the effluent and in the final sludge. An integrated analysis of 7 TPs from the same system has been carried out to go further into the dynamics of medically-derived radionuclides in it.

Predicting consumer preferences for mineral composition of bottled and tap water.

The overall liking for taste of water was correlated with the mineral composition of selected bottled and tap waters. Sixty-nine untrained volunteers assessed and rated twenty-five different commercial bottled and tap waters from. Water samples were physicochemical characterised by analysing conductivity, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS) and major anions and cations: HCO3-, SO42-, Cl-, NO3-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+. Residual chlorine levels were also analysed in the tap water samples. Globally, volunteers preferred waters rich in calcium bicarbonate and sulfate, rather than in sodium chloride. This study also demonstrated that it was possible to accurately predict the overall liking by a Partial Least Squares regression using either all measured physicochemical parameters or a reduced number of them. These results were in agreement with previously published results using trained panellists.

Influence of minerals on the taste of bottled and tap water: a chemometric approach.

Chemometric analysis was performed on two sets of sensory data obtained from two separate studies. Twenty commercially-available bottled mineral water samples (from the first study) and twenty-five drinking tap and bottled water samples (from the second study) were blind tasted by trained panelists. The panelists expressed their overall liking of the water samples by rating from 0 (worst flavor) to 10 (best flavor). The mean overall score was compared to the physicochemical properties of the samples. Thirteen different physicochemical parameters were considered in both studies and, additionally, residual chlorine levels were assessed in the second study. Principal component analysis performed on the physicochemical parameters and the panelists' mean scores generated models that explain most of the total data variance. Moreover, partial least squares regression of the panelists' sensory evaluations of the physicochemical data helped elucidate the main features underlying the panelists' ratings. The preferred bottled and tap water samples were associated with moderate (relatively to the parameters mean values) contents of total dissolved solids and with relatively high concentrations of HCO3⁻, SO4²â», Ca²âº and Mg²âº as well as with relatively high pH values. High concentrations of Na⁺, K⁺ and Cl⁻ were scored low by many of the panelists, while residual chlorine did not affect the ratings, but did enable the panel to distinguish between bottled mineral water and tap water samples.

Monitoring of (bio)available labile metal fraction in a drinking water treatment plant by diffusive gradients in thin films.

A performance study of diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was applied for the monitoring of the labile fraction of metals Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, in Sant Joan Despí Drinking Water Treatment Plant located in the South of Barcelona's Metropolitan Area (Spain). The DWTP monitoring protocol was optimized by working for 1 day of deployment (24 h) with the DGT device in contact with both treated and river water matrixes. Additionally, it was demonstrated that an increase in the deployment time of 1 week did not decrease the evaluated concentrations of the studied metals. The quality parameters of the DGT device and ICP-OES determination, such as limit of quantification, accuracy expressed as relative error (%) and reproducibility expressed as relative standard deviation, were evaluated. Good results were obtained for all the metals in ultrapure water; limits of quantification ranged from 1.5 µg L( - 1) for cadmium to 28 µg L( - 1) for zinc when deployment time of 24 h was used and from 0.2 µg L( - 1) for cadmium to 4 µg L( - 1) for zinc when this time was increased by 1 week. Accuracy and precisions lower than or equal to 10% were obtained at a parametric concentration value of the metals regulated in the European Drinking Water Guidelines (98/83/EC). DGT deployment was tested in river and treated water, and good results were obtained for Cd, Ni, Co and Zn, whereas for the other metals, a continuous control of their metallic labile fractions was monitored. Therefore, DGT device allows the continuous monitoring of the labile metal species in a drinking water treatment plant.