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Caffeine in Wastewater Is a Tracer for Human Fecal Contamination

2012; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Volume: 120; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1289/ehp.120-a108a

1552-9924

Carol Potera,

Enterobacteriaceae and Cronobacter Research

Vol. 120, No. 3 News | ForumOpen AccessCaffeine in Wastewater Is a Tracer for Human Fecal Contamination Carol Potera Carol Potera Published:1 March 2012https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.120-a108aCited by:16AboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InReddit Sewage contamination of surface waters can be a serious problem, exposing people to waterborne pathogens such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and norovirus via recreational waters1,2 and drinking water supplies.3 Contaminants can run off into waterways from many different sources—domestic, agricultural, and industrial—and it is not always easy to identify where contamination is coming from. A new study indicates that measuring caffeine in municipal water systems provides a good estimate of fecal contamination caused solely by humans.4Researchers led by Sébastien Sauvé, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Université de Montréal, Québec, discovered that caffeine levels correlate strongly with levels of fecal coliform bacteria. Caffeine is a particularly good marker for human fecal contamination because agricultural and industrial sources of fecal coliforms generally do not release caffeine into the environment. Plus, the ubiquity of caffeine consumption means that where there is human sewage, there almost certainly will be caffeine as well.4Sauvé's team analyzed water samples collected from streams, stormwater collection pipes, and stormwater discharge points in Montréal City. They measured caffeine, fecal coliforms, and the antiseizure medication carbamazepine, another candidate chemical indicator of human sewage contamination.5 Of 120 samples collected, 93 exceeded 200 colony-forming units (cfu) fecal coliforms per 100 mL water.Using caffeine as a tracer to monitor fecal contamination in waterways could be a useful tool in protecting public water supplies.Shutterstock.comCaffeine, but not carbamazepine, was strongly correlated with fecal coliform counts.4 All the water samples with more than 400 ng/L caffeine—an arbitrary threshold selected by the authors—were contaminated with fecal coliforms at concentrations exceeding 200 cfu/100 mL. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set a standard for safe swimming and recreational waters of 235 cfu/100 mL fecal coliforms,6 and the Canadian limit is 200 cfu/100 mL.7Sauvé makes this practical comparison of his data: "Any water sample containing more than the equivalent of ten cups of coffee diluted in an Olympic-size swimming pool is definitely contaminated with fecal coliforms." He adds that ELISA kits that detect caffeine potentially could be calibrated for fieldwork.Environmental chemist Piero Gardinali of Florida International University in North Miami says that Sauvé's results clearly indicate the correlation is relevant, and that a threshold of 400 ng/L caffeine could be used for environmental assessment. "Finding this link was extremely important," says Gardinali.People regularly consume caffeine in coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate, and medications,8 and after excretion, caffeine degrades slowly in the environment.5 Caffeine offers several advantages as a tracer of environmental fecal contamination. For one, it's faster than time-consuming bacterial cultures now used to measure fecal coliforms. The presence of caffeine indicates exclusively human fecal pollution, whereas fecal coliform cultures usually cannot differentiate human excrement from that of pets, wildlife, and livestock. The discovery also offers public works officials a potential tool for locating sewage leaks. "If there's no caffeine upstream but there's caffeine downstream, then the sewage leak lies in between," Sauvé says.Sauvé's study also showed that parts of Montréal's stormwater collection system, which combines rain and domestic sewers, causes sewage contamination of surface waters. Ideally, uncontaminated stormwater should flow into a river, while sewage is delivered to wastewater treatment plants. But in Montréal and many other cities, stormwater runoff and sanitary sewage both run into so-called combined sewer systems that can overflow during heavy rainfalls.9 "Any big city where sewers and runoff combine have cross-contamination problems," Sauvé says.References and Notes1 Yoder Jet al.Surveillance for waterborne disease and outbreaks associated with drinking water and water not intended for drinking—United States, 2005–2006.MMWR Surveill Summ 57(9):39-622008. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5709a1.htm18784643. Medline, Google Scholar2 Dorevitch Set al.Health risks of limited-contact water recreation.Environ Health Perspect 120(2):192-1972012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.110393422030231. Link, Google Scholar3 Fong T-Tet al.Massive microbiological groundwater contamination associated with a waterborne outbreak in Lake Erie, South Bass Island, Ohio.Environ Health Perspect 115(6):856-8642007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.943017589591. Link, Google Scholar4 Sauvé Set al.Fecal coliforms, caffeine and carbamazepine in stormwater collection systems in a large urban area.Chemosphere 86(2):118-1232012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.09.03322075053. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar5 Benotti MJ, Brownawell BJMicrobial degradation of pharmaceuticals in estuarine and coastal seawater.Environ Pollut 157(3):994-10022009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2008.10.00919038482. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar6 EPA. Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Bacteria—1986.EPA-440/5-84-002. Washington, DC:Office of Water Regulations and Standards, Criteria and Standards Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1986). Available: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/upload/2009_04_13_beaches_1986crit.pdf [accessed 7 Feb 2012]. Google Scholar7 Health CanadaGuidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality [website]. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:Health Canada (modified 23 Mar 2010). Available: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/consult/_2009/water_rec-eau/draft-ebauche-eng.php#a4 [accessed 7 Feb 2012]. Google Scholar8 Frary CDet al.Food sources and intakes of caffeine in the diets of persons in the United States.J Am Diet Assoc 105(1):110-1132005. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2004.10.02715635355. Crossref, Medline, Google Scholar9 Kessler RStormwater strategies: cities prepare aging infrastructure for climate change.Environ Health Perspect 119(12):A514-A5192011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.119-a51422133540. 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Vol. 120, No. 3 March 2012Metrics About Article Metrics Publication History Originally published1 March 2012Published in print1 March 2012 Financial disclosuresPDF download License information EHP is an open-access journal published with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. All content is public domain unless otherwise noted. Note to readers with disabilities EHP strives to ensure that all journal content is accessible to all readers. However, some figures and Supplemental Material published in EHP articles may not conform to 508 standards due to the complexity of the information being presented. If you need assistance accessing journal content, please contact [email protected]. Our staff will work with you to assess and meet your accessibility needs within 3 working days.