Rakesh Kanda

• PhD
• Professor at Brunel University of London

In this study, it was hypothesised that UV-absorbing disinfection byproducts (DBPs) may include compounds, such as halofuranones, prioritized as candidates for explaining the increased risk of bladder cancer associated with...

With the large numbers of man-made chemicals produced and released in the environment, there is a need to provide assessments on their potential effects on environmental safety and human health. Current regulatory frameworks rely on a mix of both hazard and risk-based approaches to make safety decisions, but the large number of chemicals in commerc...

Background: Prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) may contribute to endocrine-related diseases and disorders later in life. Nevertheless, data on in utero exposure to these compounds are still scarce. Objectives: We investigated a wide range of known and novel nonpolar EDCs in full-term human amniotic fluid (AF), a represent...

This study analysed the spatial and temporal occurrence of 29 disinfection by-products (DBPs) formed by chlorination and chloramination. Four full-scale treatment works and distribution system locations were sampled and results...

The environmental problem stemming from toxic and recalcitrant naphthenic acids (NAs) present in effluents from the oil industry is well characterized. However, despite the numerous technologies evaluated for their destruction, their up-scaling potential remains low due to high implementation and running costs. Catalysts can help cutting costs by a...

In this study, we assessed the effects of extreme weather events on Hydro-morphological Quality Elements in rivers of the United Kingdom alongside other pressures that will provide significant challenges for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in the UK in terms of cost-effectiveness and sustainability. While observed meteorological...

This study examined the potential of six aliphatic and aromatic amides, commonly found in natural waters or used as chemical aids in water treatment, to act as organic precursors for nine haloacetamides (HAcAms), five haloacetonitriles (HANs), regulated trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) upon chlorination and chloramination. The imp...

Oil refining produces vast quantities of wastewater with harmful contaminants that can be released back into the environment with a possible risk of toxicity to aquatic wildlife and human populations. Hence the importance of adequate wastewater treatment to achieve safe effluents that protect both ecological and human health. However, some refining...

The developing foetus represents a highly sensitive period of exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). However, risk assessment of EDCs is hampered by the lack of data on direct in utero exposure. In this study we developed a robust analytical methodology for the identification of a wide range of known and unknown EDCs in full-term amniot...

Wildlife is exposed to a diverse range of natural and man-made chemicals. Some environmental chemicals possess specific endocrine disrupting properties, which have the potential to disrupt reproductive and developmental process in certain animals. There is growing evidence that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals plays a key role in reproduc...

Unintended chemical reactions between disinfectants and natural organic matter (NOM) or anthropogenic compounds in natural waters result in the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) during drinking water treatment. To date, numerous groups of disinfection by-products have been identified in drinking water, some of which are suspected to be o...

TAML activators enable homogenous oxidation catalysis where the catalyst and substrate (S) are ultra-dilute (pM–low M) and the oxidant is very dilute (high nM–low mM). Water contamination by exceptionally persistent micropollutants (MPs), including metaldehyde (Met), provides an ideal space for determining the characteristics and utilitarian limit...

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds pose a substantial risk to the aquatic environment. Ethinylestradiol (EE2) and estrone (E1) have recently been included in a watch list of environmental pollutants under the European Water Framework Directive. Municipal wastewater treatment plants are major contributors to the estrogenic potency of surface waters. Muc...

The extremely persistent molluscicide, metaldehyde, widely used on farms and gardens, is often detected in drinking water sources of various countries at concentrations of regulatory concern. Metaldehyde contamination restricts treatment options. Conventional technologies for remediating dilute organics in drinking water, activated carbon and ozone...

Despite the recent focus on nitrogenous disinfection byproducts in drinking water, there is limited occurrence data available for many species. This paper analyses the occurrence of seven haloacetonitriles, three haloacetamides, eight halonitromethanes and cyanogen chloride in 20 English drinking water supply systems. It is the first survey of its...

17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), a synthetic oestrogen in oral contraceptives, is one of many pharmaceuticals found in inland waterways worldwide as a result of human consumption and excretion into wastewater treatment systems. At low parts per trillion (ppt), EE2 induces feminisation of male fish, diminishing reproductive success and causing fish popul...

Sexual disruption in wild fish has been linked to the contamination of river systems with steroid oestrogens, including the pharmaceutical 17α-ethinylestradiol, originating from domestic wastewaters. As analytical chemistry has advanced, more compounds derived from the human usage of pharmaceuticals have been identified in the environment and quest...

Ethinylestradiol (EE2), a key pharmaceutical ingredient in oral contraceptives, is capable of feminising male fish at low ng/l concentrations and is one of several pharmaceuticals present at biologically active concentrations in surface waters worldwide; due to its incomplete removal during wastewater treatment. While advanced wastewater treatment...

The prediction of risks posed by pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the aquatic environment now and in the future is one of the top 20 research questions regarding these contaminants following growing concern for their biological effects on fish and other animals. To this end it is important that areas experiencing the greatest risk are...

Oestrogenic contaminants are thought to be the major cause of feminisation (intersex) in wild fish populations. The major oestrogenic contaminants; oestrone (E1),17β-oestradiol (E2) and the contraceptive pill hormone 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), enter the aquatic environment via wastewater treatment works following human excretion. Widely used waste...

Steroid estrogens are thought to be the major cause of feminization (intersex) in wild fish. Widely used wastewater treatment technologies are not effective at removing these contaminants to concentrations thought to be required to protect aquatic wildlife. A number of advanced treatment processes have been proposed to reduce the concentrations of...

Predicted concentrations of estrone, 17β-estradiol, and 17α-ethinylestradiol generated from a geographical information systems-based model (LF2000-WQX) have previously been used to assess the risk of causing intersex in male fish in the rivers of England and Wales, United Kingdom. Few measured data of sufficient quality and spatial extent have been...

New environmental legislation and the introduction of stringent environmental quality standards relating to environmental contaminants continue to provide significant analytical challenges to traditional methods of analysis. The use of mass spectrometry (MS) in environmental and wastewater analysis is discussed in this context. The introduction of...

AbstractA well‐known use of perchlorate is as a rocket fuel propellant; however, more widespread uses include in munitions and fireworks, and it also occurs naturally. Perchlorate suppresses the thyroid, which can lead to a variety of adverse effects. It is a widespread contaminant in the United States, but limited occurrence data in the United Kin...

There has been increasing interest in the widely used perfluorinated chemicals such as perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS). PFOS has been shown to be toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative in the environment and is a focus for restriction within the European Union. Limited monitoring data, especially in the United Kingdom, are available for PFOS in en...

A method is described for the analysis of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D(5)) in river water and treated waste water using headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Internal standard addition to samples and field blanks was carried out in the field to provide both a measure of recovery and to prevent any exposure of samples to laboratory air,...

There is evidence that aquatic organisms downstream of some sewage treatment works show endocrine disruption as a result of exposure to substances in the effluent. As a result, the Environment Agency of England and Wales, in collaboration with the UK Government and the water industry, has started an intensive programme to determine the fate and beh...

Survey of the prevalence of perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and related compounds in drinking water and their sources

An assessment of the steroid estrogen removing performance of 23 different sewage treatment plants (STPs) was performed. The assessment relied on a model to estimate influent concentrations, and completed questionnaires on the STP treatment details from the relevant water companies. This information was compared with observed effluent 17beta-estrad...

In this study a number of analytical procedures are described to determine pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and their metabolites during sewage treatment. The work shows that PPCPs occur in sewage influent and are removed by various wastewater treatment processes. PPCPs include a wide range of chemicals such as prescription drugs...

Concentrations of estradiol, estrone, and ethinylestradiol were measured in the water column (daily for 28 or 14 days) and in the bed sediment (weekly over the same period) of the River Nene and the River Lea, U.K., upstream and downstream of sewage treatment works (STW). The concentrations of the three steroids in the STW effluents were also measu...