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Levin R, Villanueva CM, Beene D, Cradock AL, Donat-Vargas C, Lewis J, Martinez-Morata I, Minovi D, Nigra AE, Olson ED, Schaider LA, Ward MH, Deziel NC. US drinking water quality: exposure risk profiles for seven legacy and emerging contaminants. JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 2024; 34:3-22. [PMID: 37739995 PMCID: PMC10907308 DOI: 10.1038/s41370-023-00597-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Advances in drinking water infrastructure and treatment throughout the 20th and early 21st century dramatically improved water reliability and quality in the United States (US) and other parts of the world. However, numerous chemical contaminants from a range of anthropogenic and natural sources continue to pose chronic health concerns, even in countries with established drinking water regulations, such as the US. OBJECTIVE/METHODS In this review, we summarize exposure risk profiles and health effects for seven legacy and emerging drinking water contaminants or contaminant groups: arsenic, disinfection by-products, fracking-related substances, lead, nitrate, per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) and uranium. We begin with an overview of US public water systems, and US and global drinking water regulation. We end with a summary of cross-cutting challenges that burden US drinking water systems: aging and deteriorated water infrastructure, vulnerabilities for children in school and childcare facilities, climate change, disparities in access to safe and reliable drinking water, uneven enforcement of drinking water standards, inadequate health assessments, large numbers of chemicals within a class, a preponderance of small water systems, and issues facing US Indigenous communities. RESULTS Research and data on US drinking water contamination show that exposure profiles, health risks, and water quality reliability issues vary widely across populations, geographically and by contaminant. Factors include water source, local and regional features, aging water infrastructure, industrial or commercial activities, and social determinants. Understanding the risk profiles of different drinking water contaminants is necessary for anticipating local and general problems, ascertaining the state of drinking water resources, and developing mitigation strategies. IMPACT STATEMENT Drinking water contamination is widespread, even in the US. Exposure risk profiles vary by contaminant. Understanding the risk profiles of different drinking water contaminants is necessary for anticipating local and general public health problems, ascertaining the state of drinking water resources, and developing mitigation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronnie Levin
- Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Cristina M Villanueva
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER epidemiología y salud pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel Beene
- Community Environmental Health Program, College of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- University of New Mexico Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | | | - Carolina Donat-Vargas
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER epidemiología y salud pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Johnnye Lewis
- Community Environmental Health Program, College of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Irene Martinez-Morata
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Darya Minovi
- Center for Science and Democracy, Union of Concerned Scientists, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Anne E Nigra
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Erik D Olson
- Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Mary H Ward
- Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
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2
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Mulhern RE, Kondash AJ, Norman E, Johnson J, Levine K, McWilliams A, Napier M, Weber F, Stella L, Wood E, Lee Pow Jackson C, Colley S, Cajka J, MacDonald Gibson J, Hoponick Redmon J. Improved Decision Making for Water Lead Testing in U.S. Child Care Facilities Using Machine-Learned Bayesian Networks. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:17959-17970. [PMID: 36932953 PMCID: PMC10666530 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c07477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Tap water lead testing programs in the U.S. need improved methods for identifying high-risk facilities to optimize limited resources. In this study, machine-learned Bayesian network (BN) models were used to predict building-wide water lead risk in over 4,000 child care facilities in North Carolina according to maximum and 90th percentile lead levels from water lead concentrations at 22,943 taps. The performance of the BN models was compared to common alternative risk factors, or heuristics, used to inform water lead testing programs among child care facilities including building age, water source, and Head Start program status. The BN models identified a range of variables associated with building-wide water lead, with facilities that serve low-income families, rely on groundwater, and have more taps exhibiting greater risk. Models predicting the probability of a single tap exceeding each target concentration performed better than models predicting facilities with clustered high-risk taps. The BN models' Fβ-scores outperformed each of the alternative heuristics by 118-213%. This represents up to a 60% increase in the number of high-risk facilities that could be identified and up to a 49% decrease in the number of samples that would need to be collected by using BN model-informed sampling compared to using simple heuristics. Overall, this study demonstrates the value of machine-learning approaches for identifying high water lead risk that could improve lead testing programs nationwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riley E. Mulhern
- RTI
International, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - AJ Kondash
- RTI
International, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Ed Norman
- Environmental
Health Section, Division of Public Health, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, North Carolina 27609, United States
| | - Joseph Johnson
- RTI
International, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Keith Levine
- RTI
International, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Andrea McWilliams
- RTI
International, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Melanie Napier
- Environmental
Health Section, Division of Public Health, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, North Carolina 27609, United States
| | - Frank Weber
- RTI
International, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Laurie Stella
- RTI
International, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Erica Wood
- RTI
International, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | | | - Sarah Colley
- RTI
International, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Jamie Cajka
- RTI
International, Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, United States
| | - Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson
- Department
of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
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3
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Zhu DL, Guo Y, Ma BC, Lin YQ, Wang HJ, Gao CX, Liu MQ, Zhang NX, Luo H, Hui CY. Pb(II)-inducible proviolacein biosynthesis enables a dual-color biosensor toward environmental lead. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1218933. [PMID: 37577420 PMCID: PMC10413148 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1218933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
With the rapid development of synthetic biology, various whole-cell biosensors have been designed as valuable biological devices for the selective and sensitive detection of toxic heavy metals in environmental water. However, most proposed biosensors are based on fluorescent and bioluminescent signals invisible to the naked eye. The development of visible pigment-based biosensors can address this issue. The pbr operon from Klebsiella pneumoniae is selectively induced by bioavailable Pb(II). In the present study, the proviolacein biosynthetic gene cluster was transcriptionally fused to the pbr Pb(II) responsive element and introduced into Escherichia coli. The resultant biosensor responded to Pb(II) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. After a 5-h incubation with Pb(II), the brown pigment was produced, which could be extracted into n-butanol. Extra hydrogen peroxide treatment during n-butanol extract resulted in the generation of a stable green pigment. An increased brown signal was observed upon exposure to lead concentrations above 2.93 nM, and a linear regression was fitted from 2.93 to 3,000 nM. Extra oxidation significantly decreased the difference between parallel groups. The green signal responded to as low as 0.183 nM Pb(II), and a non-linear regression was fitted in a wide concentration range from 0.183 to 3,000 nM. The specific response toward Pb(II) was not interfered with by various metals except for Cd(II) and Hg(II). The PV-based biosensor was validated in monitoring bioaccessible Pb(II) spiked into environmental water. The complex matrices did not influence the regression relationship between spiked Pb(II) and the dual-color signals. Direct reading with the naked eye and colorimetric quantification enable the PV-based biosensor to be a dual-color and low-cost bioindicator for pollutant heavy metal.
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Affiliation(s)
- De-long Zhu
- School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China
| | - Yan Guo
- Shenzhen Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Shenzhen, China
| | - Bing-chan Ma
- School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yong-qin Lin
- Shenzhen Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Shenzhen, China
| | - Hai-jun Wang
- Shenzhen Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chao-xian Gao
- Shenzhen Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ming-qi Liu
- School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China
| | - Nai-xing Zhang
- Shenzhen Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Shenzhen, China
| | - Hao Luo
- School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China
| | - Chang-ye Hui
- School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, China
- Shenzhen Prevention and Treatment Center for Occupational Diseases, Shenzhen, China
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4
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Sohns A. Differential exposure to drinking water contaminants in North Carolina: Evidence from structural topic modeling and water quality data. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 336:117600. [PMID: 36967693 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
To better understand water security of communities in North Carolina, this research uses structural topic modeling (STM) and geographic mapping to identify the main topics and pollutant categories being researched and the areas exposed to drinking water contaminants. The textual data derived from the journal article abstracts that examined water pollution in North Carolina is from 1964 to present. The STM analysis of textual data is paired with socio-demographic data from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates and water pollution data from North Carolina state agencies. The STM findings show that the most discussed topics relate to runoff management, wastewater from concentrated agricultural feeding operations, emerging contaminants, land development, and health impacts as a result of water contamination. The article discusses how the topics especially threaten groundwater resources used by community water systems and private wells. Those communities served by private wells are predominantly low-income and minority populations. As a result, threats to groundwater supplies exacerbate existing issues of environmental justice in North Carolina, especially in the Coastal Plains Region. The STM findings revealed that several key threats to safe drinking water are less covered by academic literature, such as poultry concentrated agricultural feeding operations and climate impacts, which may increase disparities in water access in North Carolina.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia Sohns
- The Roux Institute, Northeastern University 100 Fore St. Portland, ME USA 04101.
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5
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Dietrich M, Barlow CF, Entwistle JA, Meza-Figueroa D, Dong C, Gunkel-Grillon P, Jabeen K, Bramwell L, Shukle JT, Wood LR, Naidu R, Fry K, Taylor MP, Filippelli GM. Predictive modeling of indoor dust lead concentrations: Sources, risks, and benefits of intervention. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 319:121039. [PMID: 36627044 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Lead (Pb) contamination continues to contribute to world-wide morbidity in all countries, particularly low- and middle-income countries. Despite its continued widespread adverse effects on global populations, particularly children, accurate prediction of elevated household dust Pb and the potential implications of simple, low-cost household interventions at national and global scales have been lacking. A global dataset (∼40 countries, n = 1951) of community sourced household dust samples were used to predict whether indoor dust was elevated in Pb, expanding on recent work in the United States (U.S.). Binned housing age category alone was a significant (p < 0.01) predictor of elevated dust Pb, but only generated effective predictive accuracy for England and Australia (sensitivity of ∼80%), similar to previous results in the U.S. This likely reflects comparable Pb pollution legacies between these three countries, particularly with residential Pb paint. The heterogeneity associated with Pb pollution at a global scale complicates the predictive accuracy of our model, which is lower for countries outside England, the U.S., and Australia. This is likely due to differing environmental Pb regulations, sources, and the paucity of dust samples available outside of these three countries. In England, the U.S., and Australia, simple, low-cost household intervention strategies such as vacuuming and wet mopping could conservatively save 70 billion USD within a four-year period based on our model. Globally, up to 1.68 trillion USD could be saved with improved predictive modeling and primary intervention to reduce harmful exposure to Pb dust sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Dietrich
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA; The Polis Center, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
| | - Cynthia F Barlow
- The Australian Centre for Housing Research, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics, University of Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia; School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Jane A Entwistle
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
| | | | - Chenyin Dong
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Health Risk Assessment, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou, 510655, China
| | - Peggy Gunkel-Grillon
- Institute of Exact and Applied Sciences (ISEA), University of New Caledonia, BPR4, 98851 Nouméa Cedex, New Caledonia, France
| | - Khadija Jabeen
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
| | - Lindsay Bramwell
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
| | - John T Shukle
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Leah R Wood
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Ravi Naidu
- Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), College of Engineering Science and Environment, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE), ATC Building, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | - Kara Fry
- Environment Protection Authority, EPA Science, Centre for Applied Sciences, Ernest Jones Drive, Macleod, Melbourne, VIC, 3085, Australia
| | - Mark Patrick Taylor
- Environment Protection Authority, EPA Science, Centre for Applied Sciences, Ernest Jones Drive, Macleod, Melbourne, VIC, 3085, Australia; School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Gabriel M Filippelli
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA
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6
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Yang J, Yee PL, Khan AA, Karamti H, Eldin ET, Aldweesh A, Jery AE, Hussain L, Omar A. Intelligent lung cancer MRI prediction analysis based on cluster prominence and posterior probabilities utilizing intelligent Bayesian methods on extracted gray-level co-occurrence (GLCM) features. Digit Health 2023; 9:20552076231172632. [PMID: 37256015 PMCID: PMC10226179 DOI: 10.1177/20552076231172632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is the second foremost cause of cancer due to which millions of deaths occur worldwide. Developing automated tools is still a challenging task to improve the prediction. This study is specifically conducted for detailed posterior probabilities analysis to unfold the network associations among the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) features. We then ranked the features based on t-test. The Cluster Prominence is selected as target node. The association and arc analysis were determined based on mutual information. The occurrence and reliability of selected cluster states were computed. The Cluster Prominence at state ≤330.85 yielded ROC index of 100%, relative Gini index of 99.98%, and relative Gini index of 100%. The proposed method further unfolds the dynamics and to detailed analysis of computed features based on GLCM features for better understanding of the hidden dynamics for proper diagnosis and prognosis of lung cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Yang
- Faculty of Computer Science and
Information Technology, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Por Lip Yee
- Faculty of Computer Science and
Information Technology, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Abdullah Ayub Khan
- Department of Computer Science and
Information Technology, Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University Lyari, Karachi,
Pakistan
| | - Hanen Karamti
- Department of Computer Sciences,
College of Computer and Information Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman
University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Elsayed Tag Eldin
- Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Future University in Egypt, New Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Amjad Aldweesh
- College of Computer Science and
Information Technology, Shaqra University, Shaqra, Saudi Arabia
| | - Atef El Jery
- Department of Chemical Engineering,
College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
- National Engineering School of Gabes,
Gabes University, Zrig Gabes, Tunisia
| | - Lal Hussain
- Department of Computer Science and
Information Technology, King Abdullah Campus Chatter Kalas, University of Azad Jammu
and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan
- Department of Computer Science and
Information Technology, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Athmuqam, Azad
Kashmir, Pakistan
| | - Abdulfattah Omar
- Department of English, College of
Science & Humanities, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz
University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia
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