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Legionella pneumophila is a persistent opportunistic pathogen that poses a significant threat to domestic water systems. Previous studies suggest that copper (Cu) is an effective antimicrobial in water systems. A rapid and sensitive quantification method is desired to optimize th...

The effort with FY19 funding was for further experimentation and refinement of a numerical model with benzene, in support of contamination resulting for California wildfires. This year's request (and corresponding change in FY) is aimed at unstudied organics. This work is also pa...

A random walk particle tracking approach was developed to analyze the advection and dispersion processes of the solute transport in a circular pipe. Stochastic difference equations were derived to model a solute particle’s two-dimensional random movement in the cross-section of a...

Distribution system nitrification is an important issue for water utilities that use chloramines as a secondary disinfectant. This presentation reviews the causes of nitrification and how to monitor, prevent, and react to nitrification events. Furthermore, an update on research n...

Extensive research in recent years has reported higher per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) concentrations in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill leachate than other municipal wastewaters, including multiple studies of leachate from MSW landfills in the United States. Becau...

With increasing concerns about freshwater cyanobacteria blooms, there is a need to identify which waterbodies are at risk for developing these blooms, especially those that produce cyanotoxins. To address this concern, we developed spatial statistical models using the US National...

For decades, researchers have sought to document injustices, highlight activism, and identify pathways in moving toward environmental justice (EJ). EJ research regarding water has been predominantly focused on drinking water. This project sought to identify and analyze the breadt...

This is a public presentation on the potential effects of nutrients in smoke on downwind cyanobacteria blooms. Wildfire activity is increasing in the continental U.S. and can be linked to climate change effects, including rising temperatures and more frequent drought conditions. ...

Protein processing operations include animal slaughtering, meat and poultry product production, and/or rendering of byproducts. These facilities utilize large volumes of water for hair/hide/feather removal, carcass washing, chilling, trimming and cutting, cooking, and cleaning/sa...

Bench top and pilot lead corrosion studies are gaining more interest, considering revisions and upcoming improvements to the Lead and Copper Rule. This literature review identified studies ranging from simpler month(s)-long bench top dump-and-fill stagnant water tests (coupon tes...

Modeling Water Age in Premise Plumbing Systems

In April 2023, the IRIS Program released the draft IRIS Toxicological Review of Perfluorodecanoic Acid (PFDA) and Related Salts for public comment and external peer review. The IRIS assessment of PFDA will undergo an independent external scientific peer review managed by ERG, a c...

This sub-product provides an overview on our work with novel technologies to separate and destroy PFAS in residual waste streams (e.g., incinerator scrubber water, reverse osmosis retentate). This presentation focuses on a stepwise process where adsorbents first separate PFAS and...

Radioactive fallout could have debilitating effects on drinking water and wastewater systems. At least some drinking water system operators have plans to mitigate the effects of a contaminated water source, but most, if not all, wastewater operators have no such plans.  Both...

Legionella pneumophila (Lp) is an opportunistic drinking water pathogen that can cause infections through the inhalation of Lp-containing aerosols. Lp can occur in premise plumbing systems as these systems often have low disinfection residual, high surface area-to-volume ratios, ...

Trimethylbenzene (TMB; CAS 25551-13-7) is a commercially available mixture of three individual isomers: 1,2,4-, 1,2,3-, and 1,3,5-TMB. TMB isomers are produced during petroleum refining. TMB exposure in humans occurs primarily through inhalation, although ingestion of TMB isomers...

Drinking water storage tanks serve several important functions, which include but are not limited to providing an adequate water supply in the case of firefighting emergencies, power outages, water main breaks, or other system failures. The water level elevation in storage tanks ...

Manufacturing advancements in three-dimensional (3D) printing of plastic polymers have outpaced our understanding of exposure risks for domestic use. One understudied aspect is the release of metal additives incorporated into plastic polymers before and after printing. Metal addi...

The purpose of this research was to determine the viability of installing low-cost storm sewer retrofit devices in multiple locations within an urban watershed.  A major component of this was the necessity for designing, fabricating, and operation of such retrofits which are not ...

Acute and long-term exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is of rising concern due to their persistent detection and abundance in the environment coupled with their potential for bioaccumulation. The replacement of legacy PFAS with ether-linked carboxylic acid (P...

The U.S. EPA’s Homeland Security Research Program (HSRP) is charged with protecting human health and the environment from accidental and intentional releases of toxic chemicals and other threat agents. Such chemical agents include Fourth Generation Agents (FGAs), which repr...

The analysis of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) has been an ongoing priority due to their potential for adverse effects on environmental and human health. Wastewater is a source for many CECs, and surface waters that receive wastewater discharge often serve as source wate...

The purpose of this letter is to correct previously reported blood serum concentrations for PFO5DoA in people in Wilmington, North Carolina (NC), in 2017-2018 [1]. Perfluoro-3,5,7,9,11-pentaoxadodecanoic acid (known as PFO5DoA; Chemical Abstracts Service Number [CASN] 39492-91-6,...

Dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) export from agricultural areas is a leading cause of nutrient pollution in freshwater systems (e.g., the North American Great Lakes). A potential solution to mitigate the excessive release of DRP is the use of nutrient management. To evaluate t...

Reduced tillage management conservation practices (No-till and Reduced-till) are widely adopted in agriculture; however, understanding their overall effectiveness for water quality protection is challenging. A meta-analysis was conducted to understand and quantify the effectivene...