SBIR Phase I: Evaluating the feasibility of the TotalTHM-NOW for drinking water treatment plants to improve water quality, reduce costs, and lower cancer risks

PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACT Research has suggested that there is an increased risk of cancer associated with long term exposure to drinking water containing halogenated disinfection by productsDBPsTrihalomethanesTHMsare the most common class of halogenated DBPs formed during water chlorinationEvery yearthousands of drinking water treatment plantsWTPsstruggle with THMs compliance issues often allocating significant portions of the operating budget towards electrical and chemical means to minimize THMs formationUnfortunatelymost WTP operators adjust treatment processes without having on sitereal time THMs concentration data to base their decisions onleading to excess chemical and energy usage and higher operating costsStandard methods are suitable for quarterly compliance monitoring THMsbut are often too expensive and not well suited for continuous real time monitoringWhile there are commercial devices for on sitereal time THMs monitoring they are not affordable to most WTPsWe propose to develop a commercial version of our pre prototype TotalTHM NOW analyzer at a price point of$K to provide most WTPs the ability to respond in real time to minimize THMs concentrations produced at the WTP and in the distribution systemThis lowers the risk of cancer from THMs for communities across the Unites Stateslarge and smallrural and metroThe TotalTHM NOW analyzer is fully automated and is designed for operators with skill levels consistent with typical WTP personnelUltimatelythe result of this SBIR proposal will be to determine the technical feasibility of reducing costs and establish that the TotalTHMNOW analyzer provides reliable THMs concentration data in side by side comparison studies with our established THM RR system PROJECT NARRATIVE The trihalomethanesTHMsare the most common class of regulatedhalogenated disinfection by products because they are carcinogenicThe proposed TotalTHM NOW analyzer will determine the concentrations of THMs on line and in real timethus providing drinking water superintendents the information necessary to optimize treatment practices and minimize THMs concentrationsMinimization of THMs concentrations over the short term will aid in compliance with drinking water regulations and over the long term it will lower cancer risks for whole cities and counties at a time