In this lecture, pathogens relevant to circumpolar exposures will be identified, along with their use in quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to provide information necessary for water safety plans that aid in the management of pathogen risks. Risk is the likelihood x consequence of exposure to hazards, where pathogen risks generally dominate risks associated with water exposures.
Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) is used to underpin WHO, U.S.EPA and other water-related guidelines/regulations internationally, particularly in specifying treatment requirements to address enteric viral, bacterial and protozoan pathogens in any source water - end use combination. More recently QMRA has been integrated with life-cycle assessment (LCA) and life-cycle costing (LCC) so as to provide a more holistic (sustainability) assessment of options.
At the end of this lecture students will be able to:
- Identify key steps in undertaking a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA)
- Understand selection of reference pathogens appropriate for circumpolar QMRAs of water service options
- Link QMRA within a broader sustainability system analysis of water services
- Practice in undertaking the key steps in a QMRA
Microbial Contamination of Drinking Water and Human Health from Community Water Systems
Using QMRA and LCA to assess Management Options in urban Water and Sanitation Infrastructures: Opportunities and unresolved Issues
This paper highlights opportunities and unresolved issues related to the concurrent use of QMRA and LCA, such as assumptions in translating chemical and pathogen health impacts to a common metric or other mode structure and parameterisation aspects.
Cost, Energy, global Warming, Eutrophication and local Human Health Impacts of Community Water and Sanitation Service Options
This paper compares water and sanitation system options for a coastal community across selected sustainability metrics, including environmental impact (i.e., life cycle eutrophication potential, energy consumption, and global warming potential), equivalent annual cost, and local human health impact.
Water Quality: Guidelines, Standards and Health - Assessment of Risk and Risk Management for Water-related Infectious Disease
The quality of water, whether it is used for drinking, irrigation or recreational purposes, is significant for health in both developing and developed countries worldwide. Water quality can have a major impact on health, both through outbreaks of waterborne disease and by contributing to the background rates of disease. Accordingly, countries develop water quality standards to protect public health. Recognising this, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a series of normative “guidelines” that present an authoritative assessment of the health risks associated with exposure to health hazards through water and of the effectiveness of approaches to their control.
Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Application for Water Safety Management
Total Staphylococci as Performance Surrogate for Greywater Treatment
License: Ceative Commons BY-SA 4.0. No changes to the original documents were made.
SHOULTS, D. C. and ASHBOLT, N. J. (2017): Total Staphylococci as Performance Surrogate for Greywater Treatment. In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research: , 1-7. URL [Accessed: 14.06.2018] PDFQuantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) Wiki
The QMRA Wiki is a community portal for current quantitative information and knowledge developed for the Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) field. It is an evolving knowledge repository intended to be the go to reference source for the microbial risk assessment community.
Global Water Pathogen Project (GWPP)
GWPP`s mission is to be a knowledge resource and hub on water pathogens which will guide the goals for sanitation and achieving safe water around the world using the power of new information technology and tools. The glossary contains relevant terms: see here http://www.waterpathogens.org/glossary