Our collective flushes help track and respond to Covid-19 and so much more. Your body waste contains harvestable compounds that can reveal your illnesses and diseases, consumption habits, and cosmetic use. Researchers gain insights from it to better understand our behavior and consumption habits. But collecting stool and urine samples from large populations proves difficult.

我们的同花顺可以帮助跟踪和响应Covid-19等。 您的身体废物中含有可收获的化合物 ，可以揭示您的疾病，消费习惯和美容用途。 研究人员从中获得见识，以便更好地了解我们的行为和消费习惯。 但是事实证明，从大量人群中收集粪便和尿液样本非常困难。

Instead, researchers developed testing techniques to sample human waste where it all congregates — the sewer.

取而代之的是，研究人员开发了测试技术，以对所有聚集在下水道中的人类废物进行采样。

Until recently, wastewater surveillance was only prevalent in academic research. It is now becoming a profitable industry as companies like Biobot offer wastewater surveillance as a service.

直到最近，废水监测仅在学术研究中盛行。 随着像Biobot这样的公司提供废水监测即服务，它现在正在成为一个有利可图的行业。

Failure to preserve body waste data privacy will cause significant emotional and economic harm. This article examines whether wastewater surveillance data is anonymous and the inherent privacy risks we must consider as this industry grows.

无法保护身体废物数据的隐私将导致严重的情感和经济伤害。 本文探讨了废水监控数据是否匿名以及随着该行业的发展我们必须考虑的固有隐私风险。

废水监测概述 (An Overview of Wastewater Surveillance)

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), or wastewater surveillance, involves the extraction, detection, and subsequent analysis and interpretation of chemical and biological compounds found in fecal matter and urine. The collection sites vary from large locations like sewer treatment plants to smaller venues such as portable toilets at festivals.

基于废水的流行病学(WBE)或废水监测涉及粪便和尿液中化学和生物化合物的提取，检测以及随后的分析和解释 。 收集地点从下水道处理厂等较大的地点到节日期间的便携式厕所等较小的地点。

数据 (The Data)

Wastewater surveillance detects anything present in our body waste if researchers possess a tool to identify it. Wastewater surveillance allows researchers to detect a wide variety of compounds in (near) real-time today, including the following:

如果研究人员拥有识别废物的工具，则废水监测可以检测到我们体内废物中存在的任何物质。 废水监测使研究人员能够今天(近)实时检测多种化合物，包括：

• Viruses, such as influenza, hepatitis A, norovirus, COVID-19

  病毒 ，例如流感，甲型肝炎，诺如病毒，COVID-19

• Pharmaceutical or illicit drugs such as anxiety and depression medications, Tamiflu, prescription opioids, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, and marijuana

  药物或非法药物，例如焦虑症和抑郁症药物，达菲，阿片类药物，芬太尼，可卡因，甲基苯丙胺，摇头丸和大麻

• Levels of antimicrobial resistance — bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites are no longer killable by drugs designed to kill them

  抗菌素耐药性水平- 细菌，病毒，真菌和寄生虫不再可以通过旨在杀死它们的药物来杀死

• Chemicals found in products we use, such as UV filters, plasticizers, flame retardants, pesticides, mycotoxins, carcinogens linked to tobacco, and BPA

  我们使用的产品中发现的化学物质 ，例如紫外线过滤剂，增塑剂，阻燃剂，农药，霉菌毒素，与烟草有关的致癌物和BPA

• Stress biomarkers that indicate the risk of a heart attack

  指示生命危险的压力生物标志物

• Consumption habits, including caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and nutrition

  消费习惯 ，包括咖啡因，酒精，尼古丁和营养

The WBE results are often presented alone but are more useful when combined with other data. For example, researchers have used WBE to compare pharmaceutical, illicit drug, alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine levels found in wastewater with sale, seizure, and consumption data in a study involving eight European cities.

WBE结果通常单独显示，但与其他数据结合使用时更有用 。 例如，在涉及八个欧洲城市的研究中，研究人员使用WBE将废水中的药物，非法药物，酒精，尼古丁和咖啡因含量与销售，缉获和消费数据进行了比较。

数据所有者和处理器 (The Data Owners & Processors)

The local government is not always the owner of the wastewater. In the United States, the privatization of wastewater treatment facilities has been increasing over the past several decades. Private owners of treatment facilities can authorize wastewater testing. Similarly, the owner of supplied portable toilets can authorize testing, and building owners can permit wastewater collection from their sewer lines.

地方政府并不总是废水的所有者。 在美国， 废水处理设施的私有化在过去几十年中一直在增加 。 处理设施的私人所有者可以授权进行废水测试。 同样，提供的便携式厕所的所有者可以授权进行测试，而建筑物的所有者可以允许从其下水道收集废水。

Depending on the purpose of the study, private companies may analyze the data (not academic researchers). The contract, if one exists, between the data owner and the processor will determine the data analysis and distribution of the results unless local privacy laws otherwise govern the data.

根据研究目的，私人公司可能会分析数据(而非学术研究人员)。 数据所有者和处理者之间的合同(如果存在)将确定数据分析和结果分配，除非当地隐私法律另有规定。

数据如何使用 (How the Data Is Used)

Extensive wastewater surveillance benefits exist. As we are currently experiencing, wastewater monitoring for infection viruses and diseases, like COVID-19, helps communities respond to and evaluate containment efforts. Instances of opioid oversubscriptions are identifiable by monitoring for discrepancies between the amount prescribed and used. Monitoring the city’s overall physical health helps determine the need and effectiveness of health awareness programs. The benefits are nearly limitless.

存在广泛的废水监测益处 。 正如我们目前所经历的那样，对感染病毒和疾病(如COVID-19)进行废水监测可帮助社区做出响应并评估收容措施。 阿片类药物超额​​订购的情况可以通过监测处方量和使用量之间的差异来识别。 监测城市的整体身体健康状况有助于确定健康意识计划的需求和有效性。 好处几乎是无限的。

Controversial uses of wastewater surveillance data also exist. In China, using wastewater monitoring, law enforcement arrested an illegal drug manufacturer. China is advancing monitoring techniques to identify and arrest unlawful drug users. This example highlights that wastewater surveillance data is not always anonymous.

废水监测数据的使用也存在争议。 在中国 ，执法部门通过废水监测逮捕了一家非法药物生产商。 中国正在发展监测技术，以识别和逮捕非法吸毒者。 该示例强调了废水监控数据并不总是匿名的。

废水数据是匿名的吗？ (Is Wastewater Data Anonymous?)

We are quick to label aggregate data as anonymous when it might be pseudonymous data, especially in the Data Era. Data is anonymous if (1) it does not relate to an identifiable person, and (2) cannot be combined with other data to re-identify a person.

当聚合数据可能是匿名数据时，我们会Swift将其标记为匿名数据，尤其是在数据时代。 如果(1)数据与可识别身份无关， 并且 (2)无法与其他数据合并以重新识别人员，则该数据为匿名数据。

WBE studies using small samples in specific locations, such as music festivals, fitness centers, prisons, hospitals, and colleges, have been conducted. It is reasonable to assume identifiable records (e.g., employee and inmate list, fitness center access logs) exists for these studies. The researchers may not know who the individuals are. But someone does, and they could link the study results to potentially re-identify the individuals.

已在特定地点 (例如音乐节，健身中心，监狱，医院和学院) 使用少量样本进行了 WBE研究。 假定存在用于这些研究的可识别记录(例如，员工和囚犯名单，健身中心访问日志)是合理的。 研究人员可能不知道这些人是谁。 但是有人这样做，他们可以将研究结果联系起来，从而有可能重新识别个人。

Anonymity remains questionable even with larger samples. Europe’s ethical guidelines recommend only publishing results for larger sample sizes, such as 100,000 people. Is that sample size large to prevent re-identification in the Big Data Era?

即使使用更大的样本，匿名性仍然值得怀疑。 欧洲的道德准则建议仅发布较大样本量(例如100,000人)的结果。 样本量是否很大，以防止在大数据时代重新识别？

Organizations can use (near) real-time wastewater surveillance to measure specific times when the compound is more prevalent than others throughout the day. Predicting the study participants is likely by combining the study results with other datasets, such as demographic data related to that specific compound (e.g., characteristics of heroin users), mobile location data, and smart home data.

当化合物在一天内比其他化合物更普遍时，组织可以使用(接近)实时废水监测来测量特定时间。 通过将研究结果与其他数据集(例如与该特定化合物有关的人口统计数据(例如，海洛因使用者的特征)，移动位置数据和智能家居数据)相结合，可以预测研究参与者。

It’s possible to conduct wastewater surveillance anonymously. But the advancements in re-identification practices challenge data anonymization. We must critically examine privacy risks as we advance this industry.

可以匿名进行废水监测。 但是，重新识别实践的进步挑战了数据匿名化。 随着行业的发展，我们必须认真审查隐私风险。

废水监控的隐私注意事项 (Privacy Considerations for Wastewater Surveillance)

WBE results reveal intimate details about people. Organizations and data scientists within this space hold an ethical responsibility to limit harm. Failure to preserve the anonymity will result in emotional, physical, and economic harm.

WBE的结果揭示了人们的亲密细节。 在这个空间内的组织和数据科学家负有道德责任以限制损害。 无法保留匿名将导致情感，身体和经济伤害。

识别隐私风险 (Identify Privacy Risks)

A privacy assessment is necessary before each study to identify and mitigate privacy risks to individuals. The evaluation should identify risks by asking:

在每次研究之前，必须进行隐私评估，以识别和减轻个人的隐私风险。 评估应通过询问以下内容来识别风险：

What emotional, physical, and economic harms may result if the data identifies an individual, vulnerable group, or community?

如果数据确定了个人，弱势群体或社区，可能会造成什么情感，身体和经济伤害？

The compound identified determines the privacy risks. Sunscreen usage does not carry the stigma or consequences of using heroin, for instance. Individuals may experience embarrassment, loss of dignity, and economic hardship if the study reveals their heroin use. A community may experience financial harm if research shows high drug usage within the community if people opt not to travel or move there.

确定的化合物确定了隐私风险。 例如，防晒霜的使用不会带有使用海洛因的污名或后果。 如果研究表明他们使用海洛因，则个人可能会感到尴尬，尊严丧失和经济困难。 如果研究表明如果人们选择不去那里旅行或移动，那么社区可能会遭受经济伤害。

The data subjects and recipients of the data impact the risks. For example, sharing prisoner drug usage results with the prison’s leadership may cause increase prisoner emotional stress and physical harm, especially if the faculty implement stricter policies and increases body and prison cell searches.

数据的主体和数据接收者会影响风险。 例如，与监狱领导分享囚犯使用毒品的结果可能会导致囚犯情绪压力和身体伤害增加，特别是如果教师实施更严格的政策并增加对尸体和监狱牢房的搜索。

Identifying the potential harms of each WBE study will guide the study’s design, including the appropriate population, sample size, and communication plan.

确定每个WBE研究的潜在危害将指导研究的设计，包括适当的人群，样本量和沟通计划。

基于风险的隐私控制 (Risk-Based Privacy Controls)

Privacy controls in alignment with the risks identified are required. The controls range from de-identification techniques to data security controls and may require obtaining consent from the individuals.

需要与发现的风险保持一致的隐私控制。 这些控制范围从取消标识技术到数据安全控制，可能需要征得个人的同意。

When the study introduces significant harm to individuals, the researchers must carefully evaluate the controls in place to maintain the confidentiality of the data. Techniques such as combining the data with other samples, increasing the sample size, and removing data such as specific time or location may be necessary. How other data companies may use the aggregate research results should also be considered. For instance, could a smart-home company combine its user data with the publicly available study results and identify individuals? If so, then the sample location may need to be redacted or merged with another geographical area to preserve anonymity. Advanced de-identification techniques, such as differential privacy synthetic data, may increase confidence in the future.

当研究对个人造成重大伤害时，研究人员必须仔细评估适当的控制措施，以维护数据的机密性。 可能需要诸如将数据与其他样本合并，增加样本大小以及删除数据(例如特定时间或位置)之类的技术。 还应考虑其他数据公司如何使用汇总研究结果。 例如，一家智能家居公司是否可以将其用户数据与可公开获得的研究结果相结合并识别个人？ 如果是这样，则可能需要对样本位置进行编辑或与另一个地理区域合并以保留匿名性。 先进的身份识别技术(例如差分隐私综合数据 )可能会增加对未来的信心。

Unless the vital interests of the community depend on the testing (e.g., people will die without it), a high-risk study should not be conducted without informed consent from the individuals.

除非社区的切身利益取决于测试(例如，如果没有测试，人们就会丧命)，那么未经个人知情同意，不得进行高风险研究。

数据所有者和处理器责任制 (Data Owners & Processors Accountability)

Wastewater data is valuable. The data broker industry is worth $200 billion. Imagine how profitable it would be to send personalized ads based on the health data gleaned from consumers’ body waste. Entities will sell wastewater data without legal restrictions. It would be naïve of us to assume otherwise. We need privacy law reform in the United States, and other lacking countries, to hold the wastewater owners and processors, including researchers, responsible for protecting our privacy.

废水数据很有价值。 数据经纪行业的产值达2000亿美元 。 想象一下，根据从消费者体内废物中收集的健康数据发送个性化广告将有多大收益。 实体将无法律限制地出售废水数据。 否则我们会很天真。 我们需要在美国和其他缺少国家/地区进行隐私法改革，以使废水所有者和处理人员(包括研究人员)对保护我们的隐私负责。

The law must carefully examine the anonymity of the data, including whether individuals may be re-identified by a third party after the data is shared or sold. The law needs to protect against data brokers linking anonymous data with other data sources to re-identify individuals after the sale. Similarly, the law needs to protect against data brokers re-identifying individuals by combining anonymous public data (e.g., research data) with their other data sources.

法律必须仔细检查数据的匿名性，包括在共享或出售数据后是否可以由第三方重新识别个人。 法律需要防止数据经纪人将匿名数据与其他数据源链接在一起，以在出售后重新识别个人。 同样，法律需要通过将匿名公共数据(例如研究数据)与其其他数据源结合起来，防止数据经纪人重新识别个人身份。

With or without a law, wastewater surveillance organizations (and data scientists and researchers) hold an ethical responsibility to the human subjects involved. Failure to critically examine the privacy risks present throughout the data lifecycle may significantly harm individuals. You must hold yourself and each other accountable to protect us.

无论有没有法律，废水监测组织(以及数据科学家和研究人员)对所涉及的人类受试者负有道德责任。 无法严格检查整个数据生命周期中存在的隐私风险可能会严重伤害个人。 您必须对自己和彼此负责，以保护我们。

We stand to benefit significantly from wastewater-based epidemiology research. These insights allow us to detect and control infectious diseases, improve drug and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment programs, and improve our overall health. Wastewater surveillance will undoubtedly save lives.

我们将从基于废水的流行病学研究中受益匪浅。 这些见解使我们能够发现和控制传染病，改善药物和酒精滥用的预防和治疗计划，并改善我们的整体健康状况。 废水监测无疑将挽救生命。

But we must consider the risks introduced to society by such a powerful and invasive innovation.

但是，我们必须考虑这种强大的侵入性创新给社会带来的风险。

Citizens, academics, policymakers, and data scientists must question the wastewater surveillance ethical guidelines as this industry grows. Realizing its benefits and not the risks requires our voices to ensure ethical guidelines are developed and followed.

随着该行业的发展，市民，学者，政策制定者和数据科学家必须质疑废水监测的道德准则。 要实现其收益而不是风险，需要我们的声音确保制定并遵守道德准则。