"Artificial Sweeteners Reveal Septic System Effluent in Rural Groundwater" with Dr. John Spoelstra.

Dr. John Spoelstra is something like a wastewater detective. If there is secret wastewater that is contaminating groundwater and putting health outcomes at risk, he wants to know. To trace the path of wastewater, he uses a special set of tools: tracer compounds. These are compounds that are not found in the natural environment, but have a lot of human use. Examples are caffeine, acetaminophen, anti-seizure medication, and a recent discovery Dr. Spoelstra and his team have found to be incredibly effective: artificial sweeteners. Think about it: they are in everything from fruit snacks to ketchup to toothpaste and mouthwash. In his latest research, he needed to investigate the source of a surplus of nitrogen in a community's soil. Artificial sweeteners in rural wells and river seeps pointed to a wastewater problem.

Listen in to hear more about:

• The potential threats of wastewater to the environment and humans
• How Dr. Spoelstra's team figured out that artificial sweeteners could be such a powerful tool
• What ion chromatography is and how it separates out the chemicals in a sample

If you would like more information about this topic, today's paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2017.06.0233

This paper is always freely available.

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If you would like to reach out to John, you can find him here: [email protected] https://profils-profiles.science.gc.ca/en/profile/john-spoelstra https://uwaterloo.ca/earth-environmental-sciences/people-profiles/john-spoelstra-0

Resources

CEU Quiz: http://www.agronomy.org/education/classroom/classes/823

"Grand River has highest levels of artificial sweetener pollution on record:" https://www.therecord.com/news-story/4271982-grand-river-has-highest-levels-of-artificial-sweetener-pollution-on-record/

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Systems: https://www.epa.gov/npdes/municipal-wastewater

EPA-Private Wells: https://www.epa.gov/privatewells

EPA-Septic Systems: https://www.epa.gov/septic

Field, Lab, Earth is copyrighted to the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.