Joo Sung Hee, Choi Heechul
School of Earth Science and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Oryong-dong, Republic of Korea.
J Environ Chem Eng. 2021 Feb;9(1):104721. doi: 10.1016/j.jece.2020.104721. Epub 2020 Nov 5.
This opinion paper reports field grand challenges associated with plastic and water contaminated with the novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2) and superbugs, given the emergency of public health and environmental protection from the presence of lethal viruses and bacteria. Two primary focuses of detection and treatment methods for superbugs and the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) are investigated, and the future outlook is provided based on grand challenges identified in the water field. Applying conventional treatment technologies to treat superbugs or the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has brought negative results, including ineffective treatment, formation of toxic byproducts, and limitation of long-term performance. Existing detection methods are not feasible to apply in terms of sensitivity, difficulty of applications in field samples, speed, and accuracy at the time of sample collection. Few studies are found on superbugs or adsorption of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on plastic, as well as effects of superbugs or the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on treatment of plastic waste and wastewater. With the need for and directions of further research and challenges discussed in this paper, we believe that this opinion paper offers information useful to a wide audience, including scientists, policy makers, consultants, public health workers, and field engineers in the water sector.
鉴于公共卫生和环境保护面临来自致命病毒和细菌的紧急情况，本观点论文报告了与受新型冠状病毒（严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2，SARS-CoV-2）和超级细菌污染的塑料及水相关的领域重大挑战。研究了针对超级细菌和新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）的检测与治疗方法的两个主要重点，并基于水领域中确定的重大挑战给出了未来展望。应用传统处理技术来处理超级细菌或新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）已带来负面结果，包括治疗无效、形成有毒副产物以及长期性能受限。就灵敏度、现场样本应用难度、速度以及样本采集时的准确性而言，现有的检测方法并不适用。关于超级细菌或新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）在塑料上的吸附，以及超级细菌或新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）对塑料废物和废水处理的影响，相关研究很少。随着本文对进一步研究的需求、方向及挑战的讨论，我们认为本观点论文为包括科学家、政策制定者、顾问、公共卫生工作者以及水行业的现场工程师在内的广大受众提供了有用信息。
