The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the award of $3.6 million in research grants to four universities, one non-profit, and one research institute to improve the detection of known and emerging drinking water contaminants; including the harmful substances produced by blue-green algae in algal blooms and noroviruses.
Grant recipients include Georgia Tech, to develop a rapid and sensitive sensor that can be used in the field to detect, identify and measure cyanotoxins, poisons produced by some blue-green algae and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, to establish fiber-optic genosensors that can rapidly detect and count multiple species of cyanobacteria in both laboratory and field settings.
Other bodies receiving funds include the Battelle Memorial Institute, to develop a system for quantifying and removing noroviruses, which cause gastrointestinal illness, and Drexel University, to develop a field-portable sensor device that can quickly detect algal toxins or potential toxin-producers in source, finished, and system waters.
Montana State University will be funded to create novel, rapid methodologies for detecting pathogenic waterborne microbial contaminants that can be applied both locally and nationally. Information relevant to water quality and associated health risks on the Crow Reservation will be obtained.
The University of Missouri gets a grant to design a new technology using the metal lanthanum to detect low levels of viruses and bacteria in water.
IWA Publishing – US: EPA announces tranche of research grants
