Water is essential to all living beings, as our body can function for three days before organ failure begins. Soluble water is found in rivers, wells, stems, and other sources. However, due to different human activities, contaminants such as PPCPS, EDCS, and PFAS are entering our water system, resulting in undrinkable water and decreasing our already low amount of soluble water.
Such water comes from multiple different sources, such as industrial discharge, runoff, and spills. Sometimes, the pollutants in the air affect our water as it atmospherically decomposes, and nitrogen and sulfur can be observed in the water. This further increases the number of times we will come into contaminated water, which causes us many health problems.  

 

In my project, I will not be conducting much experiment only 1, which is testing how many rice grains can pass through a hydraulic system. 
The materials I will be using within my project are two syringes, and a tube ( one which has a 1 cm circumference, and the other circumference of 0.5). And I will be using 10 grains of rice in the experiment. 
I will be doing the experiment with each tube 3 times, and I will be pushing the water down, and seeing how many rice grains travel to the other side.
To ensure a fair test, I will be conducting it 3 times, and each time I will be using the same 10 grains to ensure complete fairness. 
I will compare results by completing a graph. 
I am not handling anything dangerous. 

Resarch 

Define PPCP. It stands for pharmaceuticals and personal care products, while EDCs stands for endocrine disrupting chemicals which are substances and chemicals that interfere with our organisms, PFAs a man-made substances, that lead to health problems such as liver damage, thyroid disease, obesity, fertility issues, and cancer.  

PFAs are designed to be used in non-stick pans, waterproof fabric, stain-resistant clothing, and used in the aerospace, automotive, construction, and electronics industries. This means that because of how we designed PFAs they are highly resistant, and without highly dangerous conditions PFAs are unable to break down by themselves due to their strong carbon-fluorine bond. The carbon-fluorine bond is considered the strongest covalent bond in organic chemistry, due to fluorine being the most electronegative element on the periodic table, the short bond length, and it's also resistant to chemical attacks. 

PPCPs being left untreated in our water system, and if consumed by animals such as fish, birds, and mammals, causes abnormal features, and reproductive issues. But if ingested by humans it causes our hormone system, causes bacteria to grow within our body, leads to memory loss, disrupts our body development, or affects our liver and kidneys. Unlike PFA, the dangers of PPCPs depend on the PPCP itself. PPCP can be categorized as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, fragrances/flavors, disinfectants/ antiseptics, veterinary drugs, household/industrial products, sunscreens/UV filters, biocides/ preservatives. The chemical bonds of PPCPs vary but many have covalent bonds (sharing electrons between atoms) and strong chemical bonds. 

EDCs are found in cleaning products and food wrappers and mainly enter the water system through wastewater, or runoffs from household sources. Because of the significant effect on growth, development, reproduction, and immune function EDCs are dangerous to humans and wildlife even when consumed at a low level. 

Other emerging contaminants can be considered as pesticides, which are sprayed on plants. Because the contaminants inhibit the transmission, between the neutrons in the insects 

Most water power plants have not been designed to remove such contaminants, as such contaminants have only begun becoming popularly used after the early 2000s, and power plants are mostly decades old.  Almost all contaminants are found in smaller sizes so they are unable to sink in the water treatment plants, and using dissolved oxygen/ different chemicals will not break down the contaminants. Due to our propitiation of removing bacteria, bodily fluids, and contaminated water. 

 

To remove emerging contaminants from our water some solutions are upgrading our water treatment plants, But we must consider the high cost of replacing and upgrading water treatment plants, CBC recently reported that 6.6 million was spent on water treatment plants in Northern Alberta. Instead, if contaminants become a big problem adding additional measures to remove them would be more cost efficient. By adding an additional measure of bacteria and heating the water, it will help remove much of the contaminants. This addresses another issue of how EDCs, PPFAs, and PPCPs are hard to break down. To allow for the contaminants to have a weaker chemical bond manufacturing companies should brea down the chemical bond down to a singular bond, and increase the size of the atom. This will allow the product to still serve its function without causing as much harm to our environment. 

To decrease the strength of a chemical bond, change it from inorganic (a chemical substance that does not have a carbon hydrogen bond)  to an organic compound (a carbon chemical compound bonded to hydrogen). But another solution to break down the chemical compound is to consider using degradation, meaning we either use bacteria Bisphenol and Phthalates.

-Bisphenol: a compound used primarily in water to degrade chemicals

-Phthalates: a group of chemicals used to soften and increase the flexibility

-although phthalates work to decrease the strength of plastics' chemical bonds, it doesn't work as well in water 

Bisphenol is not commonly found in water treatment plants, as it has toxic properties, which can lead to neurological issues. 

 

Osmosis (the movement of water molecules from an area with high concentration to an area of low concentration) could help serve as a solution. Using a system like a hydraulic system, we can push the water and with a little tube, only parts of the water remain purifying the water as well as separating the water. 

Example: On boats/ ships in the past seawater was the only choice for the passengers/ anyone aboard to be drinking, their only choice was to boil the water and when the water reached boiling point it would start vaporizing, and then collect the vapor but when the liquid turns back into solid this leaves purified water. Now although this process leaves behind purified clean drinking water it is expensive due to the slow heating process. But now on most boats/ ships, they choose to use a hydraulic system called the water purification system, which after being pushed lets go of all the contaminants and only the remaining purified water stays. 

 

 

Or another option is to control agriculture wastewater, and dumps, and make sure water treatment plants as the most contaminated water in all of Lake Ontario is the water samples found beside major water treatment plants. Although information about what to dump into your toilets has become more sufficient, many people are still unaware of this and continue to dump things into their toilets without researching whether they belong or not. 

 

Experiment 

Like the hydraulic system mentioned above, I decided to conduct an experiment using an old hydraulic system from a grade science mechanics project. I did the experiment twice once with a large tube and once with a small tube.

First I decided to conduct the experiment with the bigger tube, now this tube is 1cm in circumference, and I unattached the tube from the syringe and decided to put in water but added 10 grains of rice into the tube. Afterwards, I closed the tubes added syringes onto the other end, and decided to push down upon the syringe after everything was safely attached. This resulted in almost all the rice grains being able to travel to the other syringe with only 2 rice grains left behind due to being stuck in the tube. 

Then I reconducted the experiment twice removed everything and redid it to test the accuracy of it. 

Next, I redid the experiment but this time, with a smaller tube now this tube was half as big as the previous one. None to 3 rice grains were able to properly travel while the water was able to move. (This experiment was conducted twice as well). 

Because water is a liquid, and as defined by the property of state/ matter liquids can take the shape of anything which is why they can travel but if it was a pill then it wouldn't be able to travel. 

The reason why many of the solutions listed above have never been use to help remove emerging contamients in water is because, by itself the contamients do not pose a big harm. As drinking/ coming in contact with small amounts of EDCs, PPCPs, EDCAs, are not harmful, but by drinking Bisophenol it cause neurobiological damanges as well as reproductive isues, heart dieases, and cancer. Which causes more servere issues rather than drinking PPCPs, EDCAs. Often within our drinking water their is not enough chemical contamients to cause a strong affect. And as in canada currently, our largest lake with elevated contaminated water is the lake of ontario which  has many different water treatment facility located near it, but the city of ontario has released offical statements showing their commitement of preserving their water quality, as well as choosing to actively moniter their water. The main path for PPCPs to travel into the water ways is through our wastewater disposal, some residence choose to flush down their medication, personal care products, and beauty products which allows PPCPs to enter our water system. 

Mean while in Alberta the problem is not as sufficant as our taps are designed to create safe drinking water, but an issue arises as low concentration of PPCP can be undetected. And throughout Calgarys wastewater system, and lake/ river water their is residues of PPCPs found within our drinking water. The alberta government has decided to citizens and local companies are working on montering our surface water, conserving it, and guidliance. 

Their are many ways to prevent contamients within our drinking water, and although many of them do work at preventing chemical contmients such as PPCP, PFA, and EDCs some have long lasting side effects on our environemnts while others can cause from 10 million to 100 million dollars. To both succesfully remove the contamients ethnical and best for our environment we need to combine multiple ideas, first we need to raise more awarness about what you should be flushing down your toilets and throwing down your sinks. By doing this alone, more people will be educated and our water will be more healthy. The city of Toronto even provided a detalied page about where to throw things such as grease, fat, and oil is something many people will tend to flush down the toilet. Around our city we have many places such as the fire department, toxic chemical department, drop off depots, etc... which takes in the things we flush down into our toilet. And now many citys have decided to began regulating and controling farming area to make sure their land doesn't have any run off waters that could possibly flow into our lakes/streams. Although the price is costly to add additional steps and meassures at water treatment plants it will not cost as much to replace the whole water treatment plant. By adding additional new meassures with new updated technology, it allows the water treatment plants to remove the contamients without leaving any residue or untreated remaing contamients. The steps I believe are the most nessacicary is an osmosis station this like an additonal step from the already pre existing station that heats and warms up the water. Because by having an osmosis system helps push out the little chemicals, 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

City of Toronto- service 

National Instiution of Health

John Hopkins Medicine

Britannica 

Canada- Water Pollution

Canada- Air Pollution

NDCP

Wastewater Transportation Service

Water Quality Association

National Cancer Association

Center for Dieases Control and Prevention

World Health Organization

Endocrine Society

UN Envrioment Program 

McGill Uni

Penn State Extension

Uni of Califonia Press