A Multistate Study to Establish a Risk Assessment Framework for the AMR in Surface Water Attributable to Municipal Wastewater and Biosolids

This project will address Research Area 2 of the FOA by improving understanding of the environmental burdens and public health impacts of antimicrobial resistant bacteria and genes (ARB and ARGs) originating from wastewater and biosolids of municipal sources. The goal is to establish a risk assessment framework that can estimate human health risks based on measurements of ARB and ARGs in surface water under the influence of municipal wastewater and biosolids. The overall hypothesis is that the public health impacts of ARB and ARGs attributable to wastewater and biosolids can be quantified by integrating standardized measurements, validated fate and transport models, and ARB- and ARG-based risk assessment frameworks.