UN Calls for Wastewater Focus

In my research, I focus on toxic chemicals that cannot be removed from wastewater treatment. And a lot of studies aim to develop advanced wastewater treatment technologies to remove more toxic chemicals in order to reduce loadings of toxic chemicals to the environment, which would affect ecosystems and in turn human health.

While developed countries such as Canada and the USA have over 90% of wastewater treated, sanitation of wastewater is still a big challenge faced by many low-income countries.  The global data indicate that only 20% of global wastewater is currently being treated. Wastewater in some developing countries is barely treated before released to the environment. Low-income countries possessing only 8 per cent of the required capacity to treat wastewater effectively. Such untreated wastewater is likely to contaminate water supplies and cause diseases. A UN-Water Analytical Brief, produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN-Habitat, on behalf of UN-Water, describes the damage being done to ecosystems and biodiversity as 'dire' and warns of the threat wastewater will increasingly pose to human health, economic activity, and water security if left unaddressed.

It is obvious that sustainable wastewater management will become a key task for the world to apply in the coming years.

UN and WHO officials pointed out  "Wastewater management has been neglected in the rush to commercialize drinking water production, a situation exacerbated by a fragmented water management system in many countries, and the use of different technologies that are often designed separately and retrofitted to existing systems."

"Around 70 per cent of industrial discharge in developing countries goes untreated. And eutrophication - from wastewater and agricultural run-off - has, according to recent estimates, reduced biodiversity in rivers, lakes and wetlands by about one-third globally."

"It is time to turn this environmental and human health challenge into an opportunity. Agriculture consumes 70 per cent of global water withdrawal, but agricultural irrigation from reclaimed wastewater is on the rise, and is being used to irrigate 20 to 45 million hectares worldwide. This is just a fraction of what is possible if policy and available technologies converge to ensure that wastewater and water quality are fully integrated into a more holistic water agenda as part of the post-2015 process,"

"To be successful and sustainable, wastewater management must be an integral part of the critical levers of urban planning and legislation resulting in productive, healthy and livable cities. The upcoming UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, Habitat III, will be an opportunity to underscore the importance of effective wastewater management and highlight the role of wastewater in the new urban agenda."

References and read more:
www.unwater.org/publications/publications-detail/en/c/275896/
http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2818&ArticleID=11130&l=en#sthash.KH72aIVy.dpuf

Microplastics and the environment

We use a lot of plastic material  in our everyday life.  Once get into the environment, large pieces will turn to small plastic particles or microplastics.   Microplastics in the environment has become an important issue in aquatic environment.

What is microplastics? Microplastics is operational defined according to the size. Generally, plastic particles smaller than 5 mm are defined as microplastics.

Photo credit: http://5gyres.org/

What types of microplastics are there?
(1) primary microplastics -- the plastics that are manufactured to be of a microscopic size. They are usually used in facial cleansers and cosmetics, or in the air blasting technology. In some cases, their use in medicine as vectors for drugs was reported. Microplastics ‘‘scrubbers’’, used in exfoliating hand cleansers and facial scrubs, have replaced traditionally used natural ingredients, including ground almonds, oatmeal and pumice.
(2) secondary microplastics --  from the breakdown of larger plastic debris, both at sea and on land due to physical, biological and chemical processes that reduce the structural integrity of plastic debris

What environmental problems microplastics cause?
Microplastics may pose problems in the marine environment because of the persistence of microplastics (their likely buildup in the future), and the ingestion by marine organisms. Ingestion of microplastics by species at the base of the food web causes concern as little is known about its effects. Potential effects of microplastics on marine organisms after ingestion include:

• physical blockage or damage of digestive tract
• leaching of plastic component chemicals into organisms
• ingestion and accumulation of sorbed chemicals by the organism

Microplastics and POPs
persistent organic pollutants (POPs)can accumulate on microplastics, which may influence the global transport of POPs. The role of microplastics in the transfer of POPs from the environment to organisms is unknown. Because microplastics can possibly act as a carrier for POPs to enter food webs meanwhile it may lower the bioavailability of POPs to organisms in the food web.

Another concerns of microplastics and toxic chemicals is from additives such as plasticizer added to plastics during manufacture. The plasticizers, some of which have endocrine disruptive effect,  may leach out upon ingestion.

Currently, there is no study that test if microplastics can be transferred across trophic levels.

References and read more:
http://5gyres.org/
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/12/new-concerns-about-plastic-pollution-in-great-lakes-garbage-patch/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics

China's new environmental law

In China, some industry polluters used to take risks and flouting environmental laws because they realize it’s cheaper to break the law than obey it. Will such situation continues?

A new Chinese environmental protection law came into effect at the beginning of this year with the aim to harmonize economic growth and environmental protection. This new environmental protection law is the most stringent law related to environmental protection in China. Environmental offenses are now facing harsher penalties.

Just two days before the new law came into effect, six polluting companies in Jiangsu were ordered by the province’s highest court to pay 160 million yuan ($26 million) for illegally dumping almost 25,000 tons of chemical waste into two rivers in 2012. Although the fines are still smaller than that in EU and US, it marked the biggest ever award in public interest environmental lawsuit in China.

Under the new law, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has gained more power. It has the right to seal premises and seize property of polluters. The new environmental law in China gives the general public more hope to combat with more serious environmental problems, yet the success of the new law still depends on how the law is enforced. In a recent Nature comment some limitations in the China's new environmental law were identified:

1) Other legislations such as agriculture, forestry, grassland and water laws can trump the environmental law and challenge its provisions.

2) fragmented and overlapping structure of environmental governance in China make the enforcement of the environmental protection law difficult

3) No acknowledgement of citizens' basic right to live in an environment suitable for life appears in the new law. Citizens, civic groups are not allowed to bring lawsuits against the government for serious lapses in air or water quality.

4) Local government grips the environmental governance exercised by controlling the staffing and financing of local environmental protection bureaus, by which environmental governance in China is mainly exercised.

For more information, read
http://www.nature.com/news/policy-four-gaps-in-china-s-new-environmental-law-1.16736
and watch

Chemicals in 2015

Chemicals produced intentionally and used in industry and consumer market provide desirable functions. Sometimes, the anthropogenic chemicals can also cause environmental problems. What is the trend chemical production and uses over the world in 2015? See the report "World Chemical Outlook" from the Chemical & Engineering News.

• Chemical Outlook 2015 By Region

- U.S.: Feedstock advantage to bring steady growth in 2015
- Europe: Lower oil price eases region’s woes
- Asia: Oversupply and slower growth will hurt profit margins for region’s firms
- Canada: Companies had a great 2014, but they don’t expect a repeat performance
- Middle East: The competitive heat will rise in 2015
- Latin America: Reform may lead to chemical industry growth in the region

• Chemical Outlook 2015 By Market
• - Petrochemicals: Oil Price Decline Doesn’t Faze U.S. Producers
  - Construction: U.S. Outlook Is Rosy For Building Materials
  - Pharmaceuticals: M&A Surge Will Continue In 2015
  - Cleantech: A Pause Ahead For Biobased Industries
  - Electronic Materials: Bright Prospects For Chips And Displays
  - Fine Chemicals: Up From Enthusiasm
  - Instrumentation: Gradual Improvement To Last Another Year
  - Specialties: Economy-Beating Growth Ahead