Recent comments

here is my response in general: I would go to my local WF outlet and simply mention that I and my friends will go to their local competitors as I no longer trust them. I went through an equivalent of this sludge business with them on recycled water a year or so ago. And now this? I work with the produce manager at the Fresh Market (thefreshmarket.com) and they buy local certified organic and nearby California or local produce so we have some idea of where it is raised. I know that sludge is not allowed in Santa Barbara County, very little in San Louis Obispo County, but I am not sure about Salinas Valley but they do use recycled sewage water in Salinas. They, Fresh Market, are competitive with Whole Foods (WF). WF is now a store that has completely lost credibility with me. Are they so clueless that they could not connect the dots on what's in sludge that would transfer to farm products? If not, do I want them choosing what I might buy to feed my family? The studies are abundant and go back for years, thus nothing new here. Contaminants of emerging concern are, like sewage sludge, found in recycled water. The the pass-through of pathogens and antibiotic resistant pathogens and their genes is noted in sewage sludge and reported in the scientific literature. These are also in recycled water. The fact is that we are running out of antibiotics while at the same time the pathogens are becoming superbugs. This also needs a better discussion. Buying your food, if you want to protect your family is no longer a slam-dunk, especially if you can see through the PR rhetoric. Front Microbiol. 2013 May 28;4:130. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2013.00130. eCollection 2013. Reclaimed water as a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes: distribution system and irrigation implications. Fahrenfeld N, Ma Y, O'Brien M, Pruden A. Author information Abstract Treated wastewater is increasingly being reused to achieve sustainable water management in arid regions. The objective of this study was to quantify the distribution of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in recycled water, particularly after it has passed through the distribution system, and to consider point-of-use implications for soil irrigation. Three separate reclaimed wastewater distribution systems in the western U.S. were examined. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to quantify ARGs corresponding to resistance to sulfonamides (sul1, sul2), macrolides (ermF), tetracycline [tet(A), tet(O)], glycopeptides (vanA), and methicillin (mecA), in addition to genes present in waterborne pathogens Legionella pneumophila (Lmip), Escherichia coli (gadAB), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ecfx, gyrB). In a parallel lab study, the effect of irrigating an agricultural soil with secondary, chlorinated, or dechlorinated wastewater effluent was examined in batch microcosms. A broader range of ARGs were detected after the reclaimed water passed through the distribution systems, highlighting the importance of considering bacterial re-growth and the overall water quality at the point of use (POU). Screening for pathogens with qPCR indicated presence of Lmip and gadAB genes, but not ecfx or gyrB. In the lab study, chlorination was observed to reduce 16S rRNA and sul2 gene copies in the wastewater effluent, while dechlorination had no apparent effect. ARGs levels did not change with time in soil slurries incubated after a single irrigation event with any of the effluents. However, when irrigated repeatedly with secondary wastewater effluent (not chlorinated or dechlorinated), elevated levels of sul1 and sul2 were observed. This study suggests that reclaimed water may be an important reservoir of ARGs, especially at the POU, and that attention should be directed toward the fate of ARGs in irrigation water and the implications for human health. ******************************************************************************************* Environ Toxicol Chem. 2006 Feb;25(2):317-26. Presence and distribution of wastewater-derived pharmaceuticals in soil irrigated with reclaimed water. Kinney CA, Furlong ET, Werner SL, Cahill JD. Author information Abstract Three sites in the Front Range of Colorado, USA, were monitored from May through September 2003 to assess the presence and distribution of pharmaceuticals in soil irrigated with reclaimed water derived from urban wastewater. Soil cores were collected monthly, and 19 pharmaceuticals, all of which were detected during the present study, were measured in 5-cm increments of the 30-cm cores. Samples of reclaimed water were analyzed three times during the study to assess the input of pharmaceuticals. Samples collected before the onset of irrigation in 2003 contained numerous pharmaceuticals, likely resulting from the previous year's irrigation. Several of the selected pharmaceuticals increased in total soil concentration at one or more of the sites. The four most commonly detected pharmaceuticals were erythromycin, carbamazepine, fluoxetine, and diphenhydramine. Typical concentrations of the individual pharmaceuticals observed were low (0.02-15 microg/kg dry soil). The existence of subsurface maximum concentrations and detectable concentrations at the lowest sampled soil depth might indicate interactions of soil components with pharmaceuticals during leaching through the vadose zone. Nevertheless, the present study demonstrates that reclaimed-water irrigation results in soil pharmaceutical concentrations that vary through the irrigation season and that some compounds persist for months after irrigation. PMID: 16519291 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ****************************************************************************************** Letters to the Editor * The APUA Newsletter Vol. 30. No. 3 • © 2012 APUA To the Editor: There are several parts necessary to an approach for controlling the accelerating loss of antimicrobial drugs, drugs which are not being replaced by the pharmaceutical industry. Briefly, however, there are at least two main branches to this approach or effort and coordination of these necessary branches, then, will be critical to accomplishment of this goal. One branch is that of conserving the existing stocks of these tools through prudent usage, the other is to understand and then diminish the reasons for their destruction, including the acceleration in the resistance and virulence of the pathogens themselves. This acceleration is, in part, related to facilitating the transfer of genetic material. One of the principal sources of not only passing on but actually generating new genetic combinations of drug resistant organisms is seen in the processing of wastewater (sewage). Through-put of resistance via sewage treatment sees the waterways and drinking water of this nation becoming reservoirs of resistant organisms. Thus while medicine may be reducing the unnecessary use of these drugs in an effort to stem their loss in efficacy, sewer plants are spewing these organisms into the environment, and doing so at hyper-industrial volumes. Dr. Amy Pruden's work has brought focus upon the environmental routes for generating and transferring genetic material (antibiotic resistance genes) as contaminants of emerging concern. Her work includes potential mitigation strategies to limit the spread of antibiotic resistance genes via environmental pathways and to treat water to remove genetic material. Her basic research mission is to build fundamental understanding of complex microbial communities in environmental systems in order to improve engineered approaches for meeting public health and water sustainability goals. Without this understanding, medicine will be fighting an uphill battle and at some point, many of the elective surgeries will become too risky due to the potential for unstoppable infections. It need not reach this stage but grasping both aspects of the approach to the loss of antimicrobial drugs warrants serious understanding. Sincerely, Edo McGowan, Ph.D