Pub Date : 2024-12-17DOI: 10.1038/s44221-024-00369-5
On its 50th anniversary, we highlight how despite its limitations, the Safe Drinking Water Act and its amendments represent a milestone in environmental legislation that should be improved and protected.
{"title":"Drinking water and the law","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s44221-024-00369-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44221-024-00369-5","url":null,"abstract":"On its 50th anniversary, we highlight how despite its limitations, the Safe Drinking Water Act and its amendments represent a milestone in environmental legislation that should be improved and protected.","PeriodicalId":74252,"journal":{"name":"Nature water","volume":"2 12","pages":"1129-1129"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-024-00369-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-17DOI: 10.1038/s44221-023-00168-4
Steffen Foss Hansen, Carina Theresa Heller Bunde, Monika A. Roy, Joel A. Tickner, Anders Baun
Achieving compliance with recent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulations in the United States and Europe will require substantial effort and funding by municipal water providers, as well as chemical and product innovation to avoid regrettable substitutions. Despite emerging knowledge of the potential persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity of these substances already several decades ago, regulatory action has only been taken in the last few years. Here we examine the background for this late regulatory action, whether early warning signs were overlooked, and whether regulatory or market actions could have been taken earlier. We find that problems in defining PFAS as a group of substances, including extrapolating hazard information from perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to other PFAS substances, have hampered the effective protection of public health and the environment. Moreover, because PFAS chemistry uniquely imparts useful functionality in a wide range of applications, many uses may be hard to replace without either modifying performance specifications for certain applications or carrying out substantial research and development and scaling of safer replacements. Most importantly, regulatory frameworks in the United States and the European Union have not been suited to group-based assessments, but are rather aimed at chemical-specific, case-by-case risk assessment and management. Even in these cases, too little emphasis has been put on using persistency as a crucial early warning property before full evidence of the hazards of individual PFAS compounds was available. We hope that this analysis provides additional insights into discussions and actions on PFAS and contributes to earlier action on other potentially hazardous chemicals and/or chemical classes. Concern about the potential health and environmental hazards of substances known as PFAS have led to strong regulations, especially in Europe and the United States. This Perspective examines whether early warnings were followed and whether lessons can be learned from the way the chemicals were dealt with since their discovery.
{"title":"Late lessons from early warnings on PFAS","authors":"Steffen Foss Hansen, Carina Theresa Heller Bunde, Monika A. Roy, Joel A. Tickner, Anders Baun","doi":"10.1038/s44221-023-00168-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44221-023-00168-4","url":null,"abstract":"Achieving compliance with recent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulations in the United States and Europe will require substantial effort and funding by municipal water providers, as well as chemical and product innovation to avoid regrettable substitutions. Despite emerging knowledge of the potential persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity of these substances already several decades ago, regulatory action has only been taken in the last few years. Here we examine the background for this late regulatory action, whether early warning signs were overlooked, and whether regulatory or market actions could have been taken earlier. We find that problems in defining PFAS as a group of substances, including extrapolating hazard information from perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to other PFAS substances, have hampered the effective protection of public health and the environment. Moreover, because PFAS chemistry uniquely imparts useful functionality in a wide range of applications, many uses may be hard to replace without either modifying performance specifications for certain applications or carrying out substantial research and development and scaling of safer replacements. Most importantly, regulatory frameworks in the United States and the European Union have not been suited to group-based assessments, but are rather aimed at chemical-specific, case-by-case risk assessment and management. Even in these cases, too little emphasis has been put on using persistency as a crucial early warning property before full evidence of the hazards of individual PFAS compounds was available. We hope that this analysis provides additional insights into discussions and actions on PFAS and contributes to earlier action on other potentially hazardous chemicals and/or chemical classes. Concern about the potential health and environmental hazards of substances known as PFAS have led to strong regulations, especially in Europe and the United States. This Perspective examines whether early warnings were followed and whether lessons can be learned from the way the chemicals were dealt with since their discovery.","PeriodicalId":74252,"journal":{"name":"Nature water","volume":"2 12","pages":"1157-1165"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-10DOI: 10.1038/s44221-024-00345-z
Lin Zhang, Daliang Ning, David Mantilla-Calderon, Yirong Xu, Bingdi Liu, Winston Chen, Jinyu Gao, Kerry A. Hamilton, Jinyong Liu, Jizhong Zhou, Fangqiong Ling
Stagnation in premise plumbing can lead to the degradation of drinking water quality, yet the variability of microbiomes and resistomes in these systems at fine spatiotemporal scales remains poorly understood. Here we track the water microbiome daily across households in St. Louis, Missouri, alongside functional gene profiles and antimicrobial resistomes. Our results show substantial differences in species composition between households, with household identity, instead of temporal fluctuations or specific water-use devices, emerging as the dominant variable shaping microbiome composition. Using LASSO regression models, we identified informative taxa for each household, achieving an average accuracy of 97.5% in estimating a sample’s household origin. Notably, distinct profiles of opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) were detected, with Mycobacterium gordonae being twice as prevalent as M. chelonae. Community assembly simulations indicated that stochastic processes primarily drive household-level taxonomic variation. In contrast, antimicrobial resistomes and functional gene repertoires were similar across households, likely influenced by common chloramine residuals applied throughout the local water distribution systems. Genes conferring resistance to beta-lactams were prevalent in bathtub faucet water across all households. These results highlight the need to incorporate household-level species variation when assessing health risks from OPPPs and monitoring antimicrobial resistance. These findings also pave the way for new research to better understand plumbing environments as potential routes for the transmission of resistant bacteria and their genes. Taxonomic compositions in bathtub faucet water microbiomes showed household individuality, with differences in the prevalences of non-tuberculous mycobacterial species. A similar antimicrobial resistome was detected.
{"title":"Daily sampling reveals household-specific water microbiome signatures and shared antimicrobial resistomes in premise plumbing","authors":"Lin Zhang, Daliang Ning, David Mantilla-Calderon, Yirong Xu, Bingdi Liu, Winston Chen, Jinyu Gao, Kerry A. Hamilton, Jinyong Liu, Jizhong Zhou, Fangqiong Ling","doi":"10.1038/s44221-024-00345-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44221-024-00345-z","url":null,"abstract":"Stagnation in premise plumbing can lead to the degradation of drinking water quality, yet the variability of microbiomes and resistomes in these systems at fine spatiotemporal scales remains poorly understood. Here we track the water microbiome daily across households in St. Louis, Missouri, alongside functional gene profiles and antimicrobial resistomes. Our results show substantial differences in species composition between households, with household identity, instead of temporal fluctuations or specific water-use devices, emerging as the dominant variable shaping microbiome composition. Using LASSO regression models, we identified informative taxa for each household, achieving an average accuracy of 97.5% in estimating a sample’s household origin. Notably, distinct profiles of opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) were detected, with Mycobacterium gordonae being twice as prevalent as M. chelonae. Community assembly simulations indicated that stochastic processes primarily drive household-level taxonomic variation. In contrast, antimicrobial resistomes and functional gene repertoires were similar across households, likely influenced by common chloramine residuals applied throughout the local water distribution systems. Genes conferring resistance to beta-lactams were prevalent in bathtub faucet water across all households. These results highlight the need to incorporate household-level species variation when assessing health risks from OPPPs and monitoring antimicrobial resistance. These findings also pave the way for new research to better understand plumbing environments as potential routes for the transmission of resistant bacteria and their genes. Taxonomic compositions in bathtub faucet water microbiomes showed household individuality, with differences in the prevalences of non-tuberculous mycobacterial species. A similar antimicrobial resistome was detected.","PeriodicalId":74252,"journal":{"name":"Nature water","volume":"2 12","pages":"1178-1194"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-10DOI: 10.1038/s44221-024-00357-9
Nayarassery N. Adarsh, Mario Wriedt
The synergistic combination of PFAS preconcentration and low-temperature degradation is a challenging goal in the broad field of water treatment technologies. Metal–organic frameworks as next-generation adsorptive thermocatalysts, owing to their nanoporous and fine-tunable functional nature, demonstrate a promising solution for this challenge.
{"title":"PFAS concentration and destruction","authors":"Nayarassery N. Adarsh, Mario Wriedt","doi":"10.1038/s44221-024-00357-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44221-024-00357-9","url":null,"abstract":"The synergistic combination of PFAS preconcentration and low-temperature degradation is a challenging goal in the broad field of water treatment technologies. Metal–organic frameworks as next-generation adsorptive thermocatalysts, owing to their nanoporous and fine-tunable functional nature, demonstrate a promising solution for this challenge.","PeriodicalId":74252,"journal":{"name":"Nature water","volume":"2 12","pages":"1145-1146"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-10DOI: 10.1038/s44221-024-00358-8
Timothy Hoellein
Adding metal tracers to nanoplastics has made it possible to trace their fate and effects on freshwater ecosystems, while also considering their interactions with other major environmental stressors, including warming and nutrient pollution.
{"title":"A quadrillion little pieces of plastic","authors":"Timothy Hoellein","doi":"10.1038/s44221-024-00358-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44221-024-00358-8","url":null,"abstract":"Adding metal tracers to nanoplastics has made it possible to trace their fate and effects on freshwater ecosystems, while also considering their interactions with other major environmental stressors, including warming and nutrient pollution.","PeriodicalId":74252,"journal":{"name":"Nature water","volume":"2 12","pages":"1149-1150"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-10DOI: 10.1038/s44221-024-00343-1
Rong-Ran Liang, Yubin Fu, Zongsu Han, Yihao Yang, Vladimir I. Bakhmutov, Zhaoyi Liu, Joshua Rushlow, Hong-Cai Zhou
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) poses a substantial threat to human health due to its bioaccumulation and carcinogenic nature. Current remediation strategies typically focus on either adsorption or degradation, neglecting the potential of an integrated approach. Herein, we present a pyrazolate metal–organic framework (MOF), PCN-1003, featuring a lamellar structure with one-dimensional open channels. PCN-1003 exhibits exceptional stability across a wide pH range (1–12) in aqueous solutions, achieving efficient PFOA adsorption (642 mg g−1). Mechanistic studies revealed that a PFOA–acetate exchange process dominates, representing a remarkable example of such a mechanism and enabling efficient PFOA uptake. Notably, PCN-1003 greatly facilitates PFOA degradation at a much lower temperature (90 °C) than observed in previously reported methods, with an approximately threefold catalytic acceleration effect, attributed to the coordination of PFOA and the confined environment within PCN-1003. This study pioneers integrated PFOA concentration and degradation using a single MOF, presenting a promising avenue for treating water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. A robust pyrazolate metal–organic framework acts as both an adsorbent for perfluorooctanoic acid and a catalyst for degradation under mild conditions, providing an integrated approach for the capture and destruction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
{"title":"A robust pyrazolate metal–organic framework for integrated perfluorooctanoic acid concentration and degradation","authors":"Rong-Ran Liang, Yubin Fu, Zongsu Han, Yihao Yang, Vladimir I. Bakhmutov, Zhaoyi Liu, Joshua Rushlow, Hong-Cai Zhou","doi":"10.1038/s44221-024-00343-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44221-024-00343-1","url":null,"abstract":"Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) poses a substantial threat to human health due to its bioaccumulation and carcinogenic nature. Current remediation strategies typically focus on either adsorption or degradation, neglecting the potential of an integrated approach. Herein, we present a pyrazolate metal–organic framework (MOF), PCN-1003, featuring a lamellar structure with one-dimensional open channels. PCN-1003 exhibits exceptional stability across a wide pH range (1–12) in aqueous solutions, achieving efficient PFOA adsorption (642 mg g−1). Mechanistic studies revealed that a PFOA–acetate exchange process dominates, representing a remarkable example of such a mechanism and enabling efficient PFOA uptake. Notably, PCN-1003 greatly facilitates PFOA degradation at a much lower temperature (90 °C) than observed in previously reported methods, with an approximately threefold catalytic acceleration effect, attributed to the coordination of PFOA and the confined environment within PCN-1003. This study pioneers integrated PFOA concentration and degradation using a single MOF, presenting a promising avenue for treating water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. A robust pyrazolate metal–organic framework acts as both an adsorbent for perfluorooctanoic acid and a catalyst for degradation under mild conditions, providing an integrated approach for the capture and destruction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.","PeriodicalId":74252,"journal":{"name":"Nature water","volume":"2 12","pages":"1218-1225"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-10DOI: 10.1038/s44221-024-00359-7
Marco Gabrielli
The microbial community present at the taps of each house is taxonomically unique. However, the antimicrobial resistance and functional potential of each home’s bacterial profile are similar to those of other houses in the same city.
{"title":"Taxonomy versus functional potential of the microorganisms at our tap","authors":"Marco Gabrielli","doi":"10.1038/s44221-024-00359-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44221-024-00359-7","url":null,"abstract":"The microbial community present at the taps of each house is taxonomically unique. However, the antimicrobial resistance and functional potential of each home’s bacterial profile are similar to those of other houses in the same city.","PeriodicalId":74252,"journal":{"name":"Nature water","volume":"2 12","pages":"1143-1144"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-10DOI: 10.1038/s44221-024-00360-0
Melissa McCracken
We have the tools and solutions we need to address shared water challenges in a changing climate; however, we lack the political will to implement them through effective cooperation.
{"title":"Taking the leap towards effective cooperation over shared waters","authors":"Melissa McCracken","doi":"10.1038/s44221-024-00360-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44221-024-00360-0","url":null,"abstract":"We have the tools and solutions we need to address shared water challenges in a changing climate; however, we lack the political will to implement them through effective cooperation.","PeriodicalId":74252,"journal":{"name":"Nature water","volume":"2 12","pages":"1130-1131"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-03DOI: 10.1038/s44221-024-00342-2
Anthony Ifeanyi Okoh, Omobola Oluranti Okoh, Nolonwabo Nontongana
Monitoring the presence of antimicrobials in the environment is essential to understand and tackle the rise of antimicrobial resistance. An extensive investigation of antimicrobials in wastewater treatment facilities across Australia reveals a direct correlation with various socioeconomic factors.
{"title":"Antimicrobials and their connection with socioeconomic factors","authors":"Anthony Ifeanyi Okoh, Omobola Oluranti Okoh, Nolonwabo Nontongana","doi":"10.1038/s44221-024-00342-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44221-024-00342-2","url":null,"abstract":"Monitoring the presence of antimicrobials in the environment is essential to understand and tackle the rise of antimicrobial resistance. An extensive investigation of antimicrobials in wastewater treatment facilities across Australia reveals a direct correlation with various socioeconomic factors.","PeriodicalId":74252,"journal":{"name":"Nature water","volume":"2 12","pages":"1155-1156"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-03DOI: 10.1038/s44221-024-00352-0
Augusto Getirana, Sujay Kumar, Paul Bates, Aaron Boone, Dennis Lettenmaier, Simon Munier
By simultaneously integrating the measurements from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite and those from other Earth-observing satellites into hydrological modelling systems, we could transform our understanding of the global terrestrial water cycle. This opportunity comes with big challenges for the scientific community.
{"title":"The SWOT mission will reshape our understanding of the global terrestrial water cycle","authors":"Augusto Getirana, Sujay Kumar, Paul Bates, Aaron Boone, Dennis Lettenmaier, Simon Munier","doi":"10.1038/s44221-024-00352-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44221-024-00352-0","url":null,"abstract":"By simultaneously integrating the measurements from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite and those from other Earth-observing satellites into hydrological modelling systems, we could transform our understanding of the global terrestrial water cycle. This opportunity comes with big challenges for the scientific community.","PeriodicalId":74252,"journal":{"name":"Nature water","volume":"2 12","pages":"1139-1142"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142845222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：