The major mission of ANSWER was to train 15 ESRs to address the risks associated with chemical/biological contaminants of emerging concern, i.e. antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes (A&ARB&ARGs) and wastewater (WW) reuse. The main scientific outputs of the project were the (i) understanding of the fate of A&ARB&ARGs within urban WW, soil, ground/surface water, and crops (determination of A&ARB&ARGs with highest risk of transfer from WW to soils-crops, assessment of the physicochemical factors favoring the persistence of A&ARB&ARGs in soils-crops, determination of the environmental/public health risk factors related with A&ARB&ARGs in soils-crops), (ii) validation of bioassays for A&ARB&ARGs effects evaluation and hazard identification (development/application of protocols for advanced bioassays for A/TPs, assessment of the effects of A/TPs and relation to AR), (iii) development of a modelling framework capable of predicting the fate and assessing the risks associated with A&ARB&ARGs in the environment (development of models on ARB&ARGs passage in soil/water resources affected by WW reuse schemes, development of models to assess the impact of conventional/advanced technologies on ARB&ARGs), (iv) assessment of the efficiency of innovative technologies to minimize A&ARB&ARGs (evaluation of the efficiency of ozonation to minimize A&ARB&ARGs, development/assessment of the efficacy of new photocatalytic reactors and cost analysis), and (v) development of a database for A, TPs, ARB&ARGs in environmental matrices and development of guidelines for the determination of ELVs.
Along with its scientific goals, ANSWER ensured via a number of dissemination/communication activities that its outcomes and impacts were widely shared with the respective research and innovation community, including industry, stakeholders, scientists, general public, and with EU/national policy makers setting the research agendas of the future. One of the main communication outcomes of ANSWER was the development of the children's book ″The Secret Handbook of the Blue Circle″ (PAPADOPOULOS Publishing (Greek); IWA Publishing (English)).
