Opinion: Wastewater-based epidemiology: a 20-year journey may pay off for Covid-19
When I entered public service in 1991 as a research scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency, its attention was focused on the impact of pesticides and industrial chemicals on humans and wildlife.
A breakthrough came eight years later with an article I wrote with my colleague Thomas Ternes describing what would eventually become known as the exposome — the totality of exposure over time to all stressors, chemical and nonchemical alike. We showed that a far larger spectrum of chemicals not normally found in the human body that can elicit subtle or profound effects on health enter the environment via sewage treatment plants. These include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, their breakdown products, and more.
