For Immediate Release
September 16, 2011
Contact: Mark Millan
Data Instincts, (707) 836-0300
Data Instincts collaborates on research project to communicate risk of recycled water use
WINDSOR, CA — The results of a collaborative research project that will help water reuse agencies and cities communicate the risks of recycled water use have been published in a national water reuse publication and will be presented at an international water conference in Barcelona, Spain later this month.
Mark Millan, principal of Data Instincts, a Sonoma County public relations firm specializing in water issues, was a co-author of the article and a member of the research project team. “One of the hurdles to public acceptance of the use of recycled water is the perceived health risks from trace concentrations of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs),” said Millan. “One of the conclusions of the study was that the presence of PPCPs in recycled water poses no significant health risks in non-potable uses.” The article appeared in the autumn 2011 issue of World Water: Water Reuse & Desalination, a publication of the national WateReuse Association.
In addition to conducting a risk assessment of a select group of PPCPs in tertiary treated recycled water, the project also created a series of message tools to clearly communicate the study’s findings and relative risks of recycled water to members of the recycled water industry and the public. The tools include handouts, fact sheets and an accessible video that can be used to communicate the relative risks of recycled water.
Millan was selected to present the results of the research project at the 8th International Water Association International Conference on Water Reclamation and Reuse in Barcelona on September 28, 2011. He will present the results along with Dr. Jean Debroux of Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, one of the scientists who collaborated with Data Instincts on the project. Laura Kennedy of Kennedy/Jenks was the other principal researcher on the team.
The research project, “Risk Assessment Study of PPCPs in Recycled Water to Support Public Review,” was funded by the WateReuse Research Foundation, the research arm of the WateReuse Association (WRA). Millan is chair of the WRA’s Public Education & Outreach Committee, a position he has held since 2005. The WRA is a national organization with the mission “to advance the beneficial and efficient use of water resources through education, sound science, and technology,” and is well known to water and environmental management agencies and governmental entities throughout the world.
Data Instincts has been involved with public outreach and education for recycled water projects throughout California including work with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Redwood City, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Windsor and Petaluma.
World Water: Water Reuse & Desalination is a quarterly journal that provides practical global water reuse and desalination information for the full spectrum of water professionals. Published by the WateReuse Association, the WateReuse Research Foundation, and the Water Environment Federation (WEF), WWR&D has a global circulation of 20,000 and is available in both print and electronic format.
For more information, call (707) 836-0300 or visit http://www.DataInstincts.com.
For more information on the WateReuse Association please visit: http://www.watereuse.org
For more information on recycled water and Risk Communications please visit: www.athirstyplanet.com/real_life/valuable_research/reuse_safe
Twitter: @DataInstincts
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