NaToxAq — Natural Toxins and Drinking Water Quality - From Source to Tap

Results in brief

Natural Toxins and Drinking Water Quality - From Source to Tap

Do natural toxins produced by plants and cyanobacteria present a risk for the quality of drinking water? This question serves as the driver for the NaToxAq ITN. All living organisms produce secondary metabolites some of which are toxic. The overarching aim of NaToxAq is to contribute to the science base for protecting the health of EU citizens when they drink water, whether this is produced from surface water or groundwater. Contamination of drinking water with natural toxins is a question that has never been addressed in a concerted way in the EU. Hence, we have structured the NaToxAq ITN to be able to bring an answer for prioritization of further efforts in the field. EU has a clear appraisal and prioritization on the importance of clean water for both ecosystems and for humans, primarily via the Water Framework Directive and the Drinking Water Directive. Climate change affects migration of plants and algae and stimulates the invasiveness of certain toxin producing plants which hence causes new natural toxins to appear in areas where they have not been seen previously. Thus, there is also a climate change dimension included in NaToxAq. The main objectives of the NaToxAq ITN are to: • construct databases, and to develop predictive tools (in silico) and analytical approaches to prioritize and screen for natural toxins in European waters • monitor the production of natural toxins and to describe their spatial and temporal occurrence in water bodies, and how aquatic toxin concentrations depend on land cover (toxin producing plants), climate, soil types, nutrient status and other variables • quantify the environmental fate of natural toxins in soils and water, first of all sorption, biotic and abiotic degradation including photodegradation, as input for modelling of natural toxin leaching to water reservoirs and as basis for risk assessment • investigate most suitable technologies for natural toxin removal at water works • quantify human toxicity of certain toxic classes with focus on cyanotoxins • aggregate data in databases with coupling to land use based leaching models to guide land (catchment) management, and for risk mapping and communication on natural toxin contamination of drinking water • train 16 ESRs to work in the cross field between academia, industry and the public sector – for handling the different aspects of natural toxin contamination of drinking water.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Clean drinking water is crucial to human health and wellbeing. The ambition of the NaToxAq ETN network is to expand the research basis for EU’s leading role in securing high quality drinking waters for its citizens. Focus is on natural toxins – a large group of emerging contaminants with unknown impact on drinking water resources. Both known toxins, like cyanotoxins, cyanogenic glucosides and terpenes and not yet explored toxins will be investigated. Twenty leading universities, research institutions, and water enterprises will pioneer the field through joint training of 15 ESRs investigating natural toxin emission via water reservoirs to water works and consumers. The natural toxin challenge is addressed by the concerted work of the ESRs within 4 scientific work packages comprising origin, distribution, fate and remediation. Priority toxins are selected using in silico approaches accompanied by novel non-targeted and targeted analyses to map natural toxins along vegetation and climatic gradients in Europe. Invasion of alien species, toxin emission, leaching and dissipation will be under strong influence of climate change. Data collected for toxin emission, properties and fate will be used to model effects of climate, land use, and design of remediation actions. Special attention will be paid to toxin removal at water works including development of new technologies tailored to remove natural toxins. The results will contribute to strengthening of European policies and regulation of drinking water, while new business opportunities within the fields of water supply and treatment, chemical monitoring and sensing, and the consulting sector will arise from academia-indstry collaborations. The urgency of the challenge, its eminent knowledge gaps, its multifaceted and multidisciplinary nature, and the need for scientific and public awareness to be communicated by ESRs in a balanced way makes the topic ideal for a European mobility and training network.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET · KOBENHAVNCoordinatorDenmark
AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · MadridSpain
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES SA · PLAN LES OUATESSwitzerland
AIGUES DE BARCELONA, EMPRESA METROPOLITANA DE GESTIO DEL CICLE INTEGRAL DE L'AIGUA SA · BarcelonaSpain
EIDGENOESSISCHE ANSTALT FUER WASSERVERSORGUNG ABWASSERREINIGUNG UND GEWAESSERSCHUTZ · DubendorfSwitzerland
EIDGENOESSISCHES DEPARTEMENT FUER WIRTSCHAFT, BILDUNG UND FORSCHUNG · BernSwitzerland
FERA SCIENCE LIMITED · LondonUnited Kingdom
HELMHOLTZ-ZENTRUM FUR UMWELTFORSCHUNG GMBH - UFZ · LeipzigGermany
HOFOR AS · KOBENHAVNDenmark
KELDA GROUP PLC · BradfordUnited Kingdom
KOBENHAVNS PROFESSIONSHOJSKOLE · KobenhavnDenmark
KRUEGER A/S · SoeborgDenmark
LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FUR PLASMAFORSCHUNG UND TECHNOLOGIE EV · GreifswaldGermany
Masarykova univerzita · BrnoCzechia
STOCKHOLMS UNIVERSITET · StockholmSweden
St. Galler Stadtwerke · St.GallenSwitzerland
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY · RestonUnited States
UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA · BarcelonaSpain
UNIVERSITY OF YORK · YORK NORTH YORKSHIREUnited Kingdom
VANDCENTER SYD AS · OdenseDenmark

NaToxAq · Natural Toxins and Drinking Water Quality - From Source to Tap

Results in brief

Natural Toxins and Drinking Water Quality - From Source to Tap

Project objective

Participants

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