2025 Water Disinfection, Byproducts and Health Gordon Research Conference and Seminar

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are unintended consequences of adding chemical disinfectants/oxidants to drinking water. Since many DBPs are toxic (e.g., genotoxic and/or carcinogenic), water treatment processes must provide microbiologically safe drinking water while minimizing formation of DBPs. Despite significant effort over the last four decades, this challenge has not been solved satisfactorily, partially due to high variability in source water quality and in drinking water infrastructure. The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on “Water Disinfection, Disinfection Byproducts and Health,” which was initiated in 2006. The 2025 GRC, subtitled “Engineering, Biological, and Chemical Implications of Oxidative Water Treatment for Sustainable Futures” will be held at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA from July 27 – August 1, 2025. The objectives of the 2025 GRC include assembling invited speakers, discussion leaders, and poster presenters spanning several disciplinary areas of expertise to (i) advance knowledge associated with water disinfection, (ii) inform best practices associated with safe and sustainable drinking water, and (iii) enhance the professional development of trainees and investigators of all experience levels. The 2025 GRC is the 8th meeting of this successful series and will include nine sessions covering several principal factors of microbial drinking water quality, disinfection and byproduct formation, and human health implications. The program was developed to embrace a wholistic approach, including cutting-edge research and practical implications for sustainably providing drinking water in the 21st century and beyond. The conference will cover five key areas of water disinfection and DBPs: (1) public health and risk assessment, (2) engineering and regulatory aspects, (3) biochemical pathways and biological impacts, (4) chemical analysis of DBP formation and fate, (5) water reuse. The GRC will also include career mentorship programming. A Gordon Research Seminar (July 26 & 27, 2025) will precede the GRC and provide an opportunity for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early career scientists to present their research, participate in career mentoring, and interact in an informal manner, thereby catalyzing the education of the next generation of environmental health experts. Overall, this GRC/GRS aligns with the mission of the NIEHS to “advance research on environmental triggers of disease” and “foster training and development of young environmental health scientists and practitioners.”