Daniel Browne

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces $30 Million in Grant Funding to Strengthen Drinking Water and #Wastewater Management in Rural America https://lnkd.in/eQr78jcW Wastewater management is crucial in the context of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for public health: Pathogens’ Early Detection: #WES allows for the monitoring and trending of pathogens, #SARS #influenza #RSV. This enables early warning of potential outbreaks before clinical cases are reported, providing a valuable tool for public health surveillance and eventually timely intervention. Population Health Monitoring: Wastewater contains biomarkers that reflect the health status of the population. By analyzing these biomarkers, public health officials can monitor trends in disease prevalence, antibiotic resistance #AMR, and the usage of pharmaceuticals, opioids, … Resource Allocation: Effective #wastewater management supports #WES by ensuring that samples are collected systematically and analyzed accurately. This data can inform resource allocation, such as directing medical supplies and personnel to areas with emerging health threats. Environmental Protection: Proper wastewater management prevents the contamination of natural water bodies, which can spread diseases and disrupt ecosystems: public health and the environment are protected. Public Health Policy: Data from #WBS is already guiding public health policies and strategies: - assessing the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns - evaluating public health interventions, - making informed decisions about PPE or other measures during pandemics, amongst others. Thank you US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to invest in wastewater management to contribute to the overall health and safety of communities.

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💡 New publication! Sludge Treatment Reed Beds (STRBs) or #sludgetreatmentwetlands are recognized as a sustainable technology for #sludgedewatering and stabilization. While most research has focused on efficiency and sludge loading rates, #greenhousegas (GHG) emissions from these systems remain largely underexplored. Why does this matter? ✔️ Wastewater and #sludgetreatment processes can release gases such as CO₂, CH₄, NO, and NH₃, which contribute to #climatechange and air pollution. ✔️ In hot, arid regions like #Oman, temperature fluctuations strongly influence these emissions, making it critical to quantify and manage them for environmental sustainability. ✔️ Understanding these dynamics helps environmental scientists and engineers design low-emission, climate-resilient treatment systems. 💡 Our new publication addresses this important gap by investigating GHG #emissions from pilot-scale STRBs and conventional #sludgedrying beds under hot and arid conditions in #Oman. Results reveal distinct emission patterns: STRBs showed higher NO emissions due to nitrification, while unplanted drying beds released more NH₃ driven by moisture. These findings highlight the role of sludge loading rates and climate in shaping emissions. 50 Days free access link: https://lnkd.in/dEE75Ant

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IYDK Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) can and have historically been used as a filler in animal feed, and when unrecyclable, this might present an even better end of life option than composting per recent EPA and USDA guidance. I'm not saying we want to feed our pigs and cows troughs of PHA, but this property is yet another unique to PHA which allows for on-site 'digestion' rather than burning, as is often the case for heaps of waste plastics, and sets it further apart from **compostable** polymers like PLA, PBS, and PBAT (which I hear also just don't taste quite as good). Reach out to discuss, learn more, or try some samples. #bioplastics #upcycling #IYDK https://lnkd.in/eSGsEewK

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Continuing with the Pollinator Research Task Force (PRTF) 🐝📊🤝 highlights series... This time, I'd like to bring to attention to exposure characterization. Risk assessment is based on toxicity and exposure characterization (like putting things into a balance ⚖️). For pollinators 🐝, the US EPA and other North American regulatory agencies developed the model BeeREX (https://lnkd.in/eWswgj2C), released in 2014. For toxicity characterization, we input the endpoints from five laboratory tests into BeeREX. For exposure characterization, we input application rate/method of application or, if residue levels in pollen and/or nectar are available for a certain crop group, we input the concentration of a compound in these bee food items. How do concentrations in pollen and nectar relates to exposure characterization? that's where consumption estimates of pollen and nectar are needed, to make the connection 🔄 and estimate a dose. There are consumption levels of pollen and nectar 🌸 assumed for adult and larva 🐝🐛 honey bee stages, for workers, drones and queens... then, the highest representatives are identified to provide a risk value. Can these consumption estimates in the model be refined? The PRTF 🐝📊🤝 sponsored a project to review the literature and address these dietary assumptions of individual bees and at the colony level. The information was published in 2️⃣ manuscripts: - Rodney and Kramer (Vincent Kramer) 2020 (https://lnkd.in/e9gsVnRa) - Rodney and Purdy 2020 (https://lnkd.in/e3J3JR3R) Realistic and conservative (meaning, leaning towards the upper bound estimates) consumption assumptions are necessary to protect the bees. For more information on the many PRTF projects, visit https://lnkd.in/exeU9aVP

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