Paddy Water Environ (2013) 11:543–550

A review on microbial and toxic risk analysis

procedure for reclaimed wastewater irrigation
on paddy rice field proposed for South Korea
Y. K. Son • C. G. Yoon • H. P. Rhee • S. J. Lee

Journal review by Maria Fernanda Ridoutt

5th year undergraduate student
Universidad Agraria La Molina
 Introduction
- Water shortage is a problem that affects many countries, and currently nearly 25% of the
worldwide population faces a water crisis (1).
- Irrigation for agriculture demands large amounts of water, especially for crops like rice
which involve field flooding.
- Reclaiming wastewater for agriculture is a viable option when there is no compromise for
human health (for either consumers of farm workers).
- Few studies have done a quantitative microbial and toxic risk assessment to paddy fields.
- The “Sustainable Water Resources Research Program’’ addressed the water shortage
problem by researching and developing sustainable water practices in South Korea .
Purpose of the study

- Perform and assessment of the human health risks associated with reclaimed
wastewater irrigation.

↓
- Provide an overview of the quantitative microbial risk assessment and the
toxic risk assessment methods that are feasible in the environment of South
Korea developed for rice paddy fields by ‘‘The Sustainable Water Resources
Research Program.’’
Materials and methods
QUANTITATIVE MICROBIAL RISK ASSESSMENT (QMRA):

1. Hazard identification:
- Reclaimed water quality is regulated by specific guidelines based on the
concentration of coliform bacteria like Escherichia coli.
- On study: Concentrations of E. coli, adenovirus, rotavirus, and Cryptosporidium in irrigation water of
paddy rice fields were used for the evaluation of risk of human enteric disease according to Ginneken
and Oron 2000; Petterson et al. 2001; Rose et al. 1996.

1. Exposure assessment:
- Farm workers are more likely to have direct contact with reclaimed wastewater
through ingestion. Exposure through inhalation and dermal contact is less likely.
- On study: Jung et al. (2005) (2) proposed that farm workers ingest 2 ml of reclaimed wastewater per day.
Materials and methods
QUANTITATIVE MICROBIAL RISK ASSESSMENT (QMRA):

3. Dose-response assessment:
- The Beta-Poisson dose–response model can be used to quantify the risk of
microbial ingestion.

- P1 is the risk of infection from ingesting pathogens in drinking water

- N is the dose concentration of microorganisms ingested
- N50 is the microbial dose resulting in 50 % infection
- a is a slope parameter
Materials and methods
QUANTITATIVE MICROBIAL RISK ASSESSMENT (QMRA):

3. Dose-response assessment:
- Probability of morbidity considering the probability distribution, age, health, and
status:

- PD is the risk of an infected person becoming diseased or ill

- PD:I is the probability of an infected person developing a clinical disease.
- In order to consider the probability of morbidity, the midpoint value of 50 % was
used in the calculation (PD:I = 0.5).
- On study: Human dose–response information was available for low exposure levels, and the best-fit
dose–response parameters used for each pathogen (3)
Materials and methods
QUANTITATIVE MICROBIAL RISK ASSESSMENT (QMRA):

4. Risk characterization:

- Combines the information from the previous steps into an assessment of the
probability of occurrence and severity of adverse health effects in the exposed
population.

- The health risk is computed by combining statistical distributions, using Monte

Carlo methods (4).
Materials and methods
TOXIC RISK ASSESSMENT:
Materials and methods
TOXIC RISK ASSESSMENT:
Materials and methods
Materials and methods
Materials and methods
Results
- <1 - QMRA and Toxic Risk Assessment
considered different pathways of
exposure.
- According to US EPA, allowable
carcinogenic risks range from 10-6 to 10-
4 and noncarcinogenic risks can be

determined to be unharmful at <1 (5).

DISCUSSION - The carcinogenic risk and
noncarcinogenic risk value determined
by the study were lower 10-6 to 10-4
and <1, respectively.
- Total risk was estimated by summation
of all risk values for the substances.
 - QMRA results are not expressed in
DALYs (Disability-adjusted life years)
nor probability of infection or illness.
- Microbial risks are not cumulative,
unlike the assumption for chemical
risks (6).

DISCUSSION - China, Malaysia and Thailand showed

similar values on most toxic metals, so
their risk values might be similar.
- These data could be useful for other
researchers who attempt to assess
human health risk for farm workers in
paddy rice fields.
Conclusions
- Microbial and toxic risk assessment procedure is an important tool for
assessing the risk involved in reclaimed water reuse.
- The average heavy metal concentrations in agricultural soils were below
or similar with the standard to serious levels as defined by Ministry of
environment, Republic of Korea.
- Continuous accumulation of data is required for more accurate
assessment, and more detailed and confidential study is required for
Xenobiotics pharmaceuticals, toxic organic substances, and nano-
contaminants.
Bibliography
(1) https://www.wri.org/applications/aqueduct/country-rankings/
(2) Jung KW, Yoon CG, An YJ, Jang JH, Jeon JH (2005) Microbial risk assessment in treated
wastewater irrigation on paddy rice plot. Korea J Limnol 38(2):225–236
(3) Haas CN, Rose JB, Gerba C (1999) Quantitative microbial risk assessment. Wiley, New York
(4) Burmaster DE, Anderson PD (1994) Principles of good practice for use of Monte Carlo
techniques in human health and ecological risk assessment. Risk Anal 14(4):477–481
(5) US EPA (1991) Risk assessment guidance for superfund volume I: human health evaluation
manual (Part B, Development of Risk-based Preliminary Remediation Goals). EPA/540/R-92/
003. US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC.
(6) https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/246195/9789241565370-
eng.pdf;jsessionid=F91ECA637040A5323F49A2922CC99CE1?sequence=1
(7) Ginneken M, Oron G (2000) Risk assessment of consuming agricultural products irrigated
with reclaimed wastewater: an exposure model. Water Resour Res 36:2691–2699
(8) Petterson SR, Ashbolt N, Sharma A (2001) Microbial risks from wastewater irrigation of
salad crops: a screening-level risk assessment. Water Environ Res 72:667–672
(9) Rose JB, Dickson LJ, Farrah SR, Carnahan RP (1996) Removal of pathogenic and indicator
microorganisms by a full-scale water reclamation facility. Water Res 30:2785–2797
Thanks for your
attention.

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any questions?