Pilot Study of Pollution Characteristics and Ecological Risk of Disinfection Byproducts in Natural Waters in Hong Kong.

Increased disinfection efforts in various parts of China, including Hong Kong, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus may lead to elevated concentrations of disinfectants in domestic sewage and surface runoff in Hong Kong, generating large quantities of toxic disinfection byproducts. Our study investigated the presence and distribution of four trihalomethanes (THMs), six haloacetic acids (HAAs), and eight nitrosamines (NAMs) in rivers and seawater in Hong Kong. The concentrations of THMs (mean concentration: 1.6 µg/L [seawater], 3.0 µg/L [river water]), HAAs (mean concentration: 1.4 µg/L [seawater], 1.9 µg/L [river water]), and NAMs (mean concentration: 4.4 ng/L [seawater], 5.6 ng/L [river water]) did not significantly differ between river water and seawater. The total disinfection byproduct content in river water in Hong Kong was similar to that in Wuhan and Beijing (People's Republic of China), and the total THM concentration in seawater was significantly higher than that before the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the regulated disinfection byproducts, none of the surface water samples exceeded the maximum index values for THM4 (80 µg/L), HAA5 (60 µg/L), and nitrosodimethylamine (100 ng/L) in drinking water. Among the disinfection byproducts detected, bromoform in rivers and seawater poses the highest risk to aquatic organisms, which warrants attention and mitigation efforts. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:2613-2621. © 2022 SETAC.

Environmental perspective of COVID-19: Atmospheric and wastewater environment in relation to pandemic.

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a major challenge to health systems worldwide. Recently, numbers of epidemiological studies have illustrated that climate conditions and air pollutants are associated with the COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide. Researches also suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 could be detected in fecal and wastewater samples. These findings provided the possibility of preventing and controlling the COVID-19 pandemic from an environmental perspective. With this review, the main purpose is to summarize the relationship between the atmospheric and wastewater environment and COVID-19. In terms of the atmospheric environment, the evidence of the relationship between atmospheric environment (climate factors and air pollution) and COVID-19 is growing, but currently available data and results are various. It is necessary to comprehensively analyze their associations to provide constructive suggestions in responding to the pandemic. Recently, large numbers of studies have shown the widespread presence of this virus in wastewater and the feasibility of wastewater surveillance when the pandemic is ongoing. Therefore, there is an urgent need to clarify the occurrence and implication of viruses in wastewater and to understand the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology of pandemic. Overall, environmental perspective-based COVID-19 studies can provide new insight into pandemic prevention and control, and minimizes the economic cost for COVID-19 in areas with a large outbreak or a low economic level.