Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a new complementary alternative to traditional epidemiological surveillance approaches for community health surveys. It provides objective, flexible, and comprehensive data on diseases, exposure to toxicants and pathogens, social habits, and lifestyle. Wastewater is regarded as an integrated pooled sample of the entire population served by a certain wastewater system, thus providing an average picture of its health status. WBE relies on the extraction, analysis, and subsequent interpretation of appropriate health status indicators, including both chemical and biological components, either exogenous or endogenous, altogether constituting the exposome. Instrumental development, especially mass spectrometry (MS) for the chemical analysis of small and large molecules, has been critical to the success achieved through WBE. Whereas all previous studies have been restricted to small molecules, the use of proteomics in WBE is an obvious extension of the intensive ongoing pursuit of biomarkers for community surveillance of diseases and health status. The relevance of human proteins present in wastewater as potential WBE indicators of population-prevalent diseases has been previously postulated, although no real examples to demonstrate their feasibility have been available until recently. These findings provide new insights into the characterization of wastewater proteomics useful for practical purposes related not only to WBE applications but also to environmental monitoring and wastewater treatment plant management.

The biogeochemical cycles are responsible for the constant transfer and transformation of matter and energy between the biosphere and the other active reservoirs of the planet. During the progress of a biogeochemical cycle, a series of molecular species (ecological “nutrients”) are constantly transferred and chemically altered. Plastic, a new material, has now begun to participate in the biogeochemical cycles. More than just participating, microplastics are interfering with the normal flow of these processes insofar as they can block the transfer of some elements and serve as a shortcut for others. These new materials can increase the bioavailability of pollutants and thus interfere with physiological activities. The results of this interference have not yet been fully evaluated, but in view of the universal presence of these particles in the most varied ecosystems of the planet, urgent measures must be taken to mitigate the negative effects of this invasion. The present review seeks to establish a global view of the distribution of microplastics around the planet and their impact on the main biogeochemical cycles, thus emphasizing the need for the development of adequate management and remediation strategies in the coming years.

The presence of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in the environment has been confirmed in different parts of the world, but mainly in North America and Europe. In Latin America, progress on this issue has not been as advanced, so we decided to compile the available information. The aim was to relate the environmental exposure of PhACs detected in fresh surface waters of Latin America, their bioaccumulation and lethal or sublethal effects. Most of the reported concentrations are in the same order of magnitude (113 PhACs in fresh surface water: 0.04 ng/L-227,000 ng/L, 57 PhACs in aquatic biota: 0.02-652 ng/g d.w.) as those previously reported worldwide. The groups with the highest concentrations were analgesics/anti-inflammatories in water and antibiotics in biofilm. For effects, we found 67 no observed effect concentration (NOEC) values for 37 PhACs, 36 lowest observed effect concentration (LOEC) values for 26 PhACs and 45 lethal concentration (LC50) values for 31 PhACs. The only compound whose concentration in water exceeded the lowest LC50 value was acetaminophen (32,000 ng/L), which is an alarm signal for the need for further monitoring of this PhAC. In addition, acetaminophen, caffeine, carbamazepine, propranolol, 17α-ethinylestradiol and 17β-estradiol were the only PhACs with NOEC and LOEC values below the concentration in water. At the regional level, the information available in Latin America is scarce and becomes even scarcer when bioaccumulation in aquatic biota is considered. At the global level, little ecotoxicological information is available. This review identifies knowledge gaps and serves as a guide and reference for further decision-making.

Estrogenic substances (ES) in an urban river Zenne (BE) dominated by wastewater effluents were assessed over the course of one year. To measure the bioequivalent (BEQ) 17 β-estradiol (E2) concentrations of ES, the biological effect-based methodology - the Chemical-Activated LUciferase gene eXpression (CALUX) bioassay was used. Daily water discharges were collected from January 2015 to February 2016 at or near the sampling stations in the Brussels Capital Region. An annual water budget shows that approximately 50% of the Zenne River flow downstream is from wastewater effluent. The estrogenic activity and yearly average ES load in influents and effluents of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in the North and South, combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and the Zenne River, were assessed for upstream and downstream of two WWTPs of Brussels. Both WWTPs with activated sludge treatment remove more than 90% of the ES. The influent concentrations of ES at the South and North WWTPs ranged from 30-359 and 18-55 ng E2 eq./L, respectively. The effluent concentrations of ES ranged from 1.0-2.1 and 1.1-6.6 ng E2 eq./L at WWTP-S and -N, respectively. The yearly average ES loads were 0.05-0.14 and 0.39-1.5 g E2 eq./d for WWTP-S and -N, respectively. The temporal variation of E2-eq concentrations at the river stations Z3 and Z5 (upstream) ranged from 1 to 2 ng E2 eq./L, while the ES activity at sites Z9 and Z11 (downstream) varied from 2-17 ng E2 eq./L and from 1-8 ng/L ng E2 eq./L, respectively. The relative ES loads to the Zenne River are as follows: WWTPs (31%), CSOs (27%), upstream Zenne (15%), a missing source (14%), and local tributaries (13%). ES in the Zenne River behave in a pseudo-persistent manner because of continuous input from the WWTPs and slow degradation in the 18 km river stretch. The BEQ concentration of E2 exceeds the EU environmental quality standards (EQS) of 0.4 ng E2/L throughout the Zenne River.

This study aimed to detect and characterize tyre wear particles (TWPs) in sediment samples from Guanabara Bay, an area where microplastics (MPs) have been extensively studied, but TWPs have not been specifically reported. Nine sediment samples were collected from different locations across the bay and processed using peroxide degradation to remove organic matter, followed by floatation and filtration to isolate MPs. TWPs were identified using binocular stereo microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. The results revealed significant quantities of TWPs in the bay sediments, although exact quantification was hindered by the particles’ size variability and suboptimal sedimentation systems. These findings underscore the need for improved methodologies to accurately quantify TWPs in coastal environments, potentially through the development of specific TWP markers. Future research directions are also discussed.