17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), an endocrine disruptor (ED) excreted by women and is found in contraceptive and hormone replacement pills used at menopause. An increase in EDs requires alternative means of water and sewage treatment, since these compounds threaten human health and the environment, even at trace levels. Phytotechnology stands out from other processes because it is sustainable, given that plants are used to recover the contaminated environment. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate rice grass performance in the removal of 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), and determine the effect of this hormone on the root anatomy and chlorophyll content of the species. A completely randomized design was used with 4 replications: EE2 concentration composed of 4 study treatments (420, 300, 180 and 60 μg L-1 EE2) and 2 control treatments (positive and negative). The effect of the treatments was evaluated over time (1, 7 and 15 days). EE2 removal from the solution was analyzed by HPLC. Chlorophyll was analyzed by UVvis spectrophotometry, showing that EE2 does not interfere with the photosynthetic activity of rice grass. Aerenchyma was analyzed by microphotographs of root sections, revealing a higher proportion in plants exposed to the hormone, indicating morpho-anatomical adaptations to survive in this medium. Thus, it can be concluded that rice grass has significant phytoremediation potential after 7 days’ exposure, surviving and adapting to the contaminated environment, and can be used to complement water and sewage treatments. = O 17α-etinilestradiol (EE2) é um interferente endócrino (IE) liberado pelo organismo feminino e encontrado em remédios contraceptivos e de reposição hormonal na menopausa. A ascensão dos IEs requer meios alternativos de tratamento de água e esgoto, pois esses compostos ameaçam a saúde humana e o meio ambiente, mesmo em nível traço. A fitotecnologia vem se distinguindo dos demais processos por ser sustentável, tendo em vista que a recuperação do meio contaminado é feita através de plantas. Assim, objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar o capim arroz na remoção do 17α-etinilestradiol (EE2), bem como verificar o efeito desse hormônio na anatomia radicular e no teor de clorofila dessa espécie. O experimento foi conduzido em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com 4 repetições. Os tratamentos consistiram das concentrações de EE2 (420, 300, 180 e 60 μg L-1), mais dois controles (positivo e negativo). O efeito dos tratamentos foi avaliado no tempo, sendo: 1, 7 e 15 dias (tempo de remediação). A análise da remoção do EE2 da solução foi feita por HPLC. A análise da clorofila foi feita por espectrofotômetro UV-vis e mostrou que o EE2 não interfere na atividade fotossintética de capim arroz. A análise dos aerênquimas foi executada por microfotografias de secções das raízes, revelando maior proporção de aerênquimas nas plantas que tiveram contato com o hormônio, indicando adaptações morfoanatômicas para sobreviverem nesse meio. Sendo assim, a espécie tem alto potencial fitorremediador com 7 dias de exposição, sobrevivendo e se adaptando no ambiente contaminado, podendo ser empregada como complemento em tratamentos de água e esgoto.

A set of human pharmaceuticals enables identification of groundwater that is influenced by sewage and provides information on the time of recharge. As the consumption rates of the investigated pharmaceuticals have changed over time, so too has the composition of the sewage. At the study area, south of Berlin (Germany), irrigation was performed as a method of wastewater clean-up at sewage irrigation farms until the early 1990s. Today, treated wastewater is discharged into the surface-water-stream Nuthegraben. Groundwater and surface-water samples were analyzed for the pharmaceutical substances clofibric acid, bezafibrate, diclofenac, carbamazepine and primidone, the main ions and organic carbon. The pharmaceutical substances were detected at concentrations up to microgram-per-liter level in groundwater and surface-water samples from the Nuthegraben Lowland area and from the former irrigation farms. Concentrations detected in groundwater are generally much lower than in surface water and there is significant variation in the distribution of pharmaceutical concentrations in groundwater. Groundwater influenced by the irrigation of sewage water shows higher primidone and clofibric-acid concentrations. Groundwater influenced by recent discharge of treated sewage water into the surface water shows high carbamazepine concentrations while concentrations of primidone and clofibric acid are low.

El uso excesivo de los antibióticos ha dado paso a su presencia en las aguas residuales y ecosistemas acuáticos, ocasionando alteraciones en estos y afectando la salud pública por la proliferación de bacterias resistentes a los antibióticos (BRA) y sus genes de resistencia antibiótica (GRA). Una forma de reducir estos impactos negativos es mediante el mejoramiento del tratamiento de las aguas residuales urbanas. Esta revisión expone 46 investigaciones sobre 10 tecnologías para la eliminación de los antibióticos, BRA y GRA después de realizar una revisión sistemática del tema, con el fin de evaluar la eficiencia de eliminación de cada una, así como la influencia de los países donde se han implementado y de esta manera mitigar el riesgo de exposición en fuentes hídricas. Como resultado, se obtuvo que los tratamientos de foto-fenton y la electroquímica son los que obtienen mayores eficiencias de eliminación de antibióticos; sin embargo, para los agentes microbianos BRA y GRA, la radiación gamma y la fotocatálisis con TiO2 y UV resultaron ser superiores por sus porcentajes de remoción correspondientes a 99.9%. Se encontró que China es el país con más investigaciones científicas realizadas frente al tema, aspecto que se puede correlacionar con las afectaciones a la salud que enfrentan los habitantes de este país, siendo uno de los mayores consumidores de antibióticos en el mundo; le sigue en materia de publicaciones Colombia que resalta por sus estudios sobre la eficiencia de la electroquímica. | The excessive use of antibiotics has given way to their presence in wastewater and aquatic ecosystems, causing alterations in these and affecting public health by the proliferation of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and their antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). One way to reduce these negative impacts is by improving urban wastewater treatment. This review presents 46 research out of 10 antibiotic elimination technologies, ARBs and ARGs after a systematic review of the subject, in order to evaluate the elimination efficiency of each, as well as the influence of the countries where they have been implemented and thus mitigate the risk of exposure in water sources. As a result, it was obtained that the photo-fenton treatments and the electrochemistry are the ones that obtain greater efficiencies of elimination of antibiotics; however, for the microbial agents ARB and ARG, the gamma radiation and the photocatalysis with TiO2 and UV turned out to be superior by their percentages of removal corresponding to 99.9%. It was found that China is the country with more scientific research conducted on the subject, an aspect that can be correlated with the health effects faced by the population of this country, being one of the largest consumers of antibiotics in the world, followed by publications Colombia that stands out for its studies on the efficiency of electrochemistry. | Ingeniero Ambiental | http://unidadinvestigacion.usta.edu.co | Pregrado

Shallow groundwater is the main source for drinking water in Kabul, Afghanistan. It comes from a multitude of shallow hand-pumped wells spread over the whole city area. The groundwater is characterised by slightly oxic redox conditions. Interactions with aquifer carbonates lead to near-neutral pH and high degrees of hardness. The mostly negative water budget of the Kabul Basin is the result of strong evaporation which leads to an increase in salt and also of some undesirable constituents, e.g. borate. Several years of drought have aggravated this problem. The shallow groundwater in the city has received tremendous amounts of pollution due to a lack of proper waste disposal and sewage treatment. Common indicators are elevated concentrations of nutrients such as nitrate and faecal bacteria. The high infant mortality can at least partially be attributed to the insufficient water hygiene. Acid generated during the mineralisation of the wastewater is hidden due to the strong pH buffering capacity of the groundwater system. Redox and pH conditions preclude significant mobilisation of trace metals and metalloids.