Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Sewage chemical information mining – development of a novel concept for the assessment of human exposure to pollutants through wastewater analysis

Project description

So many secrets are hidden in sewage

Sewage consists of waste matter like faeces and urine and the water that drains from our sinks and showers. It also contains valuable information about our health and exposure to chemical pollutants. In this context, the EU-funded SCHEME project proposes wastewater monitoring to assess the health of the residents of a given community. Sewage Chemical Information Mining (SCIM) is a proposed method based on the analysis of specific human biomarkers in urban wastewater. To further develop the SCIM field, the project will develop a comprehensive analytical methodology for the determination of biomarkers of exposure to a wide range of organic pollutants, including different classes of personal care products and industrial chemicals.

Objective

Human populations worldwide are exposed to a large number of chemical pollutants from contaminated food, personal care products and the surrounding environment. Exposure to these compounds is generally assessed by human biomonitoring - the analysis of biomarkers (excreted parent compounds or metabolic products) in biological matrices from individuals, mostly urine. Due to the several limitations of this approach, a novel concept - sewage chemical information mining (SCIM), has been proposed. This approach is based on the analysis of specific human biomarkers in urban wastewater, but its potential in studying human exposure to pollutants has been scarcely investigated.
The SCHEME project aims to contribute to the practical development and broadening of the SCIM field by developing a comprehensive analytical methodology for the determination of biomarkers of exposure to a wide range of organic pollutants, including different classes of personal care products and industrial chemicals. The biomarkers will be selected using the pharmacokinetics data and Human Metabolome Database and analysed by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry. The developed methodology will be applied in four European cities as case studies. However, the results of this exploratory study could lead to implementation of this novel, relatively inexpensive and near real-time approach for the assessment of human exposure to pollutants. By monitoring temporal and spatial trends, communities with the highest exposure could be promptly identified. Therefore, the results of the SCHEME project will be highly valuable for obtaining relevant epidemiological information and will contribute to preventing human health problems related to pollutants exposure. The fellow’s expertise, gathered in top international research institutions, and the outstanding infrastructure and capabilities available at ICRA, makes an ideal conjunction for the successful completion of the project.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

FUNDACIO INSTITUT CATALA DE RECERCA DE L'AIGUA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 160 932,48
Address
CALLE EMILI GRAHIT EDIFICI H20 101
17003 Girona
Spain

See on map

Region
Este Cataluña Girona
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 160 932,48
My booklet 0 0