Environmental dissemination and accumulation of antibiotic pharmazeuticals, pathogens, and resistance determinants as caused by wastewater irrigation

Applicants Professorin Dr. Elisabeth Grohmann; Professor Dr. Jan Siemens
Subject Area Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management
Soil Sciences
Term from 2010 to 2015
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 162311074
 

Project Description

Wastewater reuse for irrigafion and artificial groundwater recharge is increasingly pracficed worldwide to improve the production of food and to alleviate water shortages. Pharmaceuticals, pathogens, and resistance determinants that are released into the environment together with the wastewater pose a potential risk to environmental and human health. Little is known, however, regarding the processes that control the disseminafion and accumulafion of wastewater-derived pharmaceuticals, pathogens, and resistance determinants in the environment. We propose to study transport, dissipation, and accumulafion of anfibiofic pharmaceuficals in different environmental compartments of the Mexico City/Mezquital Valley wastewater irrigation sytem in relation to the disseminafion of pathogens and antibiofic resistance with a consortium of environmental scientists, microbiologists, and medical scientists. The collaboration between Mexican and German scienfist in this joint project brings together the experience of the participating german scienfists in the environmental behaviour of pharmaceuficals and resistance determinants and the knowledge of the Mexican scienfists on wastewater irrigafion and soil aquifer treatment, which offers a unique chance for studying the Mexico City/Mezquital Valley case as a model to explore processes governing the magnitude of environmental and health risks emerging from wastewater reuse.
DFG Programme Research Grants
International Connection Mexico
Partner Organisation Consejo Nacional de Humanidades Ciencias y Tecnologías (CONAHCYT)
Participating Persons Professor Dr. Wulf Amelung; Professor Dr. Johannes Huebner; Dr. Blanca Jiménez Cisneros; Dr. Yolanda López Vidal; Professorin Dr. Marisa Mazari-Hiriart; Dr. Maria del Pilar Ortega Larrocea; Dr. Blanca Prado; Professorin Dr. Christina Siebe