Spyros K Golfinopoulos

University of the Aegean · Department of Financial and Management Engineering

Empirical studies are valuable for assessing soil and water pollution, as they can reduce costs and save time. The present study discusses previous research results using a questionnaire to gather experts’ judgments on technical issues and potential pollution related to the vulnerability of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) in Greece. The questio...

This case study in the municipality of Acharnes, Greece, examines a local initiative that transforms schoolyards into community gardens, involving teachers, pupils, parents, grandparents, and neighbors. The research explores participants’ perceptions of these transformations, with a focus on interactions with non-human beings such as pollinators. D...

Growing concerns over public health and environmental safety have intensified the focus on minimizing harmful disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in water treatment. Traditional methods like chlorination, while effective against pathogens, often lead to the formation of DBPs, which pose significant risks. This paper explores alternative strategies to re...

This article delves into the enduring self-governing nature of a traditional irrigation system in a rural community in Greece through the lens of the social–ecological system (SES) framework. The aim is to analyze the variables and interactions that have sustained this community-based governance structure over a century. This study underscores the...

Water’s role in shaping human societies, economies, and cultures extends beyond its status as a natural resource. This water quality, the entanglement of the social and natural, constructs the waterscape. This paper discusses how a community fountain and its replica, in a rural community of Greece, constructed by different agents with divergent mot...

The seismic vulnerability of public buildings must be estimated using structural or non-structural parameters. Scientists ought to investigate these factors for the estimation and analysis of lifelines such as wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Although efforts have been made in the past, the serious non-structural and operational parameters are...

Many quantitative and qualitative methods have been developed to estimate the seismic vulnerability of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). The research approach using questionnaires is the most common qualitative process to quickly access estimation results. In the present study, the Experts’ Judgment method was implemented. A representative quest...

Rainwater Harvesting system (RWHs) can be considered as an alternative water resource in the era of the climate crisis. This research aims to study the effectiveness of a RWHs for domestic nonpotable use and the water demand of the community in a Mediterranean site (Chios island, Greece). A water balance model is applied to simulate the behavior of...

The Poster investigates the main characteristics of operational vulnerability of Wastewater Treatment Plants. Literature review and the impacts to these infrastructure after severe earthquakes emerged nine main factors to be estimated for seismic operational vulnerability

The Poster investigates the main characteristics of non-structural vulnerability of Wastewater Treatment Plants. Literature review and the impacts to these infrastructure after severe earthquakes emerged seven main factors to be estimated for seismic non-structural vulnerability

The assessment of seismic vulnerability is critical for lifelines such as wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) because failures may result in environmental degradation, deterioration of water quality and human diseases development. The main scope of this research is the testing and application of a rapid, simple methodology for assessing the seismic...

This study presents an overview about the arsenic (As) contamination and its sources in two European countries. Arsenic is a highly toxic element in its inorganic form and it is carcinogenic to human seven in low concentrations. The occurrence of As in surface water, stream and marine waters, groundwater, bottled water, sediment, soil, mines, and s...

The management of environmental issues in modern cities has preoccupied local and national authorities worldwide. Sustainable development is the vision that can drive cities to deal with their environmental and social problems. Under this perception environmental education plays a key role in shaping perceptions, encouraging environmentally friendl...

Natural pesticides are in the forefront of interest as ecofriendly alternatives to their synthetic ancestors. In the present study, we evaluated the nematicidal activity of seven Greek Lamiaceae species and discerned among principal components for activity according to GC-MS analysis. Care was taken that all botanicals used were easily prepared wit...

Urban agglomeration launched the problem of the disposal of human excrement. Mix of materials, practices, technologies, legislation, attitudes and culture, religion and economy comprise what we call management organization of human excrement. Institutional conditions, processes of governmentalization and political dynamics add complexity to its mul...

Samples from the two main watersheds that provide Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (AWSSC) with raw water were examined for Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and for their molecular weight distribution (MWD). In addition, water samples from water treatment plants (WTPs) and from the water supply network were examined for trihalomethane (THMs)...

In this paper, we investigated the presence of twenty four disinfection by-products (DBPs) including four trihalomethanes, six haloacetonitriles, three haloketones, chloral hydrate, chloropicrin and nine haloacetic acids, in drinking water treatment plants (WTPs) and their distribution systems of Athens for a period of more than ten years (1993–200...

An investigation into the occurrence of priority substances regulated by 2000/60/EC Water Framework Directive and 2008/105/EC Directive was conducted for a period of one year in the surface water sources supplying the water treatment plants (WTPs) of Athens and in the raw water of WTPs. Samples from four reservoirs and four water treatment plants o...

From the very moment that people from nomadic cultures choose to have a permanent settlement the concern about of solid and liquid waste arises. Urban aggregation makes the problem more societal and the first documented waste management systems date back to 3500 BC. In ancient Athens of 4th and 5th century B.C. a system of laws and entities of enf...

For a part of the world the access to safe drinking water is perceived as given. In the West there were struggles from 19th century for the access to the water and the provision of clean, cheap and safe water as a public service. Today for the neo-liberal economic policies the privatization of the water has become a crucial issue. Water from a publ...

A survey was conducted in the Athens water supply to determine the presence of haloacetamides in drinking water by liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography. The samples were collected from the potable water reservoirs located at the four water treatment plants. The results showed the presence of 2-chloroacetamide and 2,2-dichloroacetamide at...

The natural Yliki Lake is an auxiliary supply source of raw surface water in the greater Athens metropolitan area. Multivariate statistical techniques, such as principal component analysis/factor analysis, cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, and classification and regression trees were applied to the surface water quality data of Yliki Lake to...

The organic substances most frequently reported as precursors of trihalomethanes in public water are naturally occurring humates found in surface water and groundwater. Algae may be potent trihalomethane precursors during chlorination for drinking water and react readily with chlorine to produce trihalomethanes. The objective of this paper is to pr...

For many years the water supply system of Athens in Greece has been disinfected mainly by chlorination. A consequence of chlorination is the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs). A survey was conducted to determine their levels in the Athens water supply system over a period of time. A multiple regression model for THM formation was generated for pr...

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are being used increasingly to predict water variables. This study offers an alternative approach to quantify the relationship between time of chlorination in potable water (due to convectional treatment procedure) and chlorination by-products concentration (expressed as carbon and bromine) with an ANN model, i.e.,...

Chlorine was accepted as an effective disinfectant for drinking water in early 1900s. Because of chlorination, chlorine has dramatically reduced the incidence of waterborne diseases. An unwanted side effect is the formation of harmful by-products upon chlorination. The most significant group of disinfection by-products formed during chlorination is...

Throughout the year 2007, 89 treated water samples from three water treatment plants (WTPs) of the Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company (EYDAP S.A.) and 180 samples from network tanks (NWTs) were analyzed for electrical conductivity (EC), alkalinity (TA), pH, aluminium (Al), total hardness (TH), chloride (Cl(-)), residual chlorine (free Cl), ca...

There appears to be very good epidemiological evidence for a relationship between chlorination by-products, as measured by trihalomethanes (THMs), in drinking water and bladder cancer, but the evidence for other cancers, including colorectal cancer appears to be inconclusive and inconsistent. There appears to be some evidence for a relationship bet...

It is widely known that disinfection of drinking water is necessary to ensure clean water and safeguard the public liom waterborne diseases such as typhoid. cholera, and dysentery. The most common disinfection practice is chlorination. For centuries it was considered as the safest disinfectant to protect the urban population from fatal diseases. In...

AWSC (Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company) uses chlorine as an acceptable disinfectant. An unwanted side effect of chlorination is the formation of by-products. One of the most significant groups of disinfection by-products is the trihalomethanes. Water companies have to keep their concentration levels lower than the limits that the E.U. Direc...

Organotin compounds belong to the priority list of substances regulated by 76/464/EEC Directive, as well as by 2000/60/EC Water Framework Directive, because they pose considerable risks to the environment and human health. They are the most commonly used organometallic compounds with estimated global amount produced 50,000 tons per year. Therefore,...

Aquatic humic substances are amorphous organic macromolecules and precursors of mutagens formed on chlorination of raw water. Their isolation from River Mornos and Lake Yliki (primary reservoirs of Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company) using columns of XAD-8 and IR-120 resins is performed in order to study their structural differences among res...

The occurrence of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water has been an issue of major concern during the last years due to their adverse health effects. The development and optimization of analytical methods for the determination of DBPs in water are key points in order to estimate human exposure to DBPs after water treatment. During this...

An investigation into the occurrence of disinfection by-products (DBPs) was conducted for a period of two years (2001–2002) on the drinking water of Athens, Greece. Samples from four water treatment plants (WTPs) and from the distribution system of Athens were collected monthly and analyzed for DBPs. The concentrations of DBPs were determined by th...

The formation of Disinfection By-Products (DBPs) in drinking water results from the reaction of chlorine or other disinfectants added to the water with naturally occurring organic materials, and has raised concerns during the last decades because these compounds are harmful for human health. During the present work, the formation of different categ...

The formation of chlorination by-products (CBPs) was investigated through bench-scale chlorination experiments with river water. The compounds selected for analysis belonged to the groups of trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, haloketones and haloacetonitriles. Trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids were the major species formed during chlorination, w...

The pollution of the surface waters of Greece from the priority compounds of 76/464/EEC Directive was evaluated. The occurrence of 92 toxic compounds, 64 of which belong to priority compounds of List II, candidates for List I, of 76/464/EEC Directive, was studied in surface waters and wastewater through the developed network of 62 sampling stations...

The presence of organic chlorination by-products (CBPs) in drinking waters has caused great public health concerns. One of the most important factors affecting their formation during the disinfection procedure is reaction time. The kinetics of the formation of CBPs can be different for the different categories or species of compounds, depending als...

Water chlorination results in formation of a variety of organic compounds, known as chlorination by-products (CBPs), mainly trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). Factors affecting their concentrations have been found to be organic matter content of water, pH, temperature, chlorine dose, contact time and bromide concentration, but the...

Chlorination is the most widely used technique for disinfection of drinking water. A consequence of chlorination is the formation of Disinfection By-Products (DBPs). The formation of DBPs in drinking water results from the reaction of chlorine with naturally occurring organic materials, principally humic and fulvic acids. This paper focuses on the...

http://www.gnest.org/Journal/Vol5_No3/20_Lekkas.pdf

The priority substances of List I, 76/464/EEC Directive, some of which belong to the new Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, have been monitored in the surface waters of Greece through the developed network of 53 sampling stations. The analytical methods used for the determination of these substances included Purge and Trap-Gas chromatography-Mas...

A survey undertaken in Northern Greece has shown that organochlorine pesticides are present in the surface waters. Surface water samples have been collected seasonally from four rivers and five lakes for a period of two years. Solid-phase extraction followed by gas chromatographic techniques with electron capture detection was used for the determin...

Application of chlorination for the disinfection of drinking water results in the formation of a wide range of organic compounds, called disinfection by-products (DBPs), which occur due to the reaction of chlorine with natural organic materials. The occurrence of DBPs was studied in samples from four drinking-water treatment plants (WTPs) and from...

Natural water from six sources in Mytilene, Greece, was chlorinated in order to identify and quantify some of the organic by-products formed. The compounds examined were trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, haloacetonitriles, haloketones, chloral hydrate and chloropicrin. The factors tested were time and chlorine dose. The presence of bromide ion in...

The human population throughout history has been threatened by waterborne illnesses like typhoid fever and cholera. The disinfection of water supplies using chemical and physical intervention strategies has resulted in a dramatic decline in outbreaks of these epidemics. Water chlorination was and still is the most frequent used method of disinfecti...

The human population throughout history has been threatened by waterborne illnesses like typhoid fever and cholera. The disinfection of water supplies using chemical and physical intervention strategies has resulted in a dramatic decline in outbreaks of these epidemics. Water chlorination was and still is the most frequent used method of disinfecti...

Natural water from six sources in Mytilene, Greece, was chlorinated in order to identify and quantify some of the organic by-products formed. The compounds examined were trihalomethanes, haloacetic acids, haloacetonitriles, haloketones, chloral hydrate and chloropicrin. The factors tested were time and chlorine dose. The presence of bromide ion in...

A modelling procedure with a time discretisation of 1 min is developed in order to study and simulate the kinetics of formation of total trihalomethanes (TTHM) in water treatment plants. This methodology was applied on two significant processing units of Athens (Galatsi Treatment Plant-GTP, Menidi Treatment Plant-MTP). The fundamental concept of th...

The occurrence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was studied in river water, lake water, seawater and treated wastewater in Greece from October 1998 to September 1999. The determination of 41 VOCs was performed with a Purge and Trap-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry method. Samples were collected seasonally from 10 rivers, seven lakes, three...

The presence of trihalomethanes (THMs) in drinking water has attracted the attention of both researchers and professionals, because of the harmful effects of these substances on human health. A multiple regression model was developed to estimate THM concentrations in finished drinking water, using data from the Menidi Treatment Plant of Athens. A n...

Four analytical methods have been applied for the determination of volatile chlorination by-products in drinking water, based on the following techniques: liquid-liquid extraction-gas chromatography-electron capture detection (LLE-GC-ECD); liquid-liquid extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (LLE-GC-MS); purge and trap-gas chromatography-m...

Acidic methanol esterification followed by gas chromatography (GC) with electron capture detection (ECD) was applied for the determination of the nine haloacetic acids in water. The main advantage of this method is the use of acidic methanol as the derivatization agent instead of the hazardous diazomethane. The recoveries, estimated at concentratio...

Comparison of four methods including liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), direct aqueous injection (DAI), purge and trap (PAT) and head space (HS) were carried out in this work for determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including trihalomethanes (THMs) in drinking water. This comparison is made especially to show the advantages and disadvant...

The behaviour of the haloketones (HKs) 1,1-Dichloropropanone (1,1-DCP), 1,1,1-Trichloropropanone (1,1,1-TCP) and 1,3-Dichloropropanone (1,3-DCP) in ultrapure water solutions and in fortified drinking water samples was investigated. Their concentrations were determined at regular time intervals by the use of a gas chromatography–electron capture det...

On a monthly basis, on a one year period, disinfection by-products (DBPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in raw water and in treated water of four water treatment plants (WTP) as well as from eight representative points of the distribution network of Athens. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method followed by gas chromatography (...

This paper summarizes and completes an investigation into the occurrence of trihalomethanes (THMs) in public water supplies in Greece. The investigation was conducted in three cities of Greece, Athens, Mytilene and Chalkida, from 1993 to 1998. Samples were collected from three treatment plants of Athens (Galatsi Treatment Plant--GTP, Menidi Treatme...

An investigation of the decomposition of dihaloacetonitriles (DHANs) in water solutions and fortified drinking water samples was conducted. The concentrations of dichloroacetonitrile (CHCl2CN, DCAN), bromochloroacetonitrile (CHBrClCN, BCAN) and dibromoacetonitrile (CHBr2CN, DBAN) were determined by a gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) met...

This survey undertaken in Greece (Mytilene town) has shown that Volatile halogenated organics (VHO) are present in swimming pool water. Analysis was performed by purge‐and‐trap (PAT) gas chromatographic (GC) technique and samples from two public indoor swimming pools in Mytilene were analyzed for VHO. Water samples were collected every week for a p...

An investigation into the occurrence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was conducted for a period of two years in the surface waters of Northern Greece. Samples from four rivers and five lakes were taken seasonally and analyzed for VOCs. The analysis has been performed by purge-and-trap (PAT) gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) techni...

A survey undertaken in Athens has shown that Volatile Halogenated Organics (VHO) are present in chlorinated drinking water; analysis has been performed by purge-and-trap (PAT) gas chromatographic (GC) technique. Samples from different points of the Menidi Treatment Plant (MTP) and the distribution network of Athens were taken and analyzed for VHO....

For many years the water supply systems in Greece have been disinfected mainly by chlorination. A consequence of chlorination is the formation of trihalomethanes (THM). The aim of this investigation was to determine their levels in the Athens water supply system over a period of time. The sources for this system are the lakes Marathon and Iliki and...