Occurrence and distribution of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in industrial and domestic sewage sludge

Abstract

Sewage sludge samples collected from 43 different domestic and industrial wastewater treatment plants and petrochemical industries that discharge to the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) were analyzed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), which are highly toxic and carcinogenic towards humans and animals. The measured total PCDD/F toxic equivalency (TEQ) ranged between 0.73 and 7348.40 pg/g dry weight. The mean TEQ of PCDD/Fs in industrial sludge was approximately 40 times higher than that in sewage sludge. The PCDD homolog concentrations in the industrial samples were higher than those observed at the wastewater treatment plants by a factor of 10, with total heptachlorodibenzodioxin (HpCDD) exhibiting the maximum concentration in most of the samples. Among the PCDF homologs, total heptadichlorodibenzofuran (HpCDF) dominated the total homolog concentration in sludge from the wastewater treatment plants, whereas total tetradichlorodibenzofuran (TeCDF) dominated the industrial sludge samples. Overall, the total PCDD/F TEQ in sludge samples was much higher than that in effluent samples from the same facility. A linear correlation (R (2) = 0.62, p value < 0.068) was found indicating that sludge sampling can be used as a surrogate for effluent concentrations in wastewater treatment plants but not for industrial discharges.

State and green crimes related to water pollution and ecological disorganization: water pollution from publicly owned treatment works (POTW) facilities across US states

“…Instead, studies have examined individual POTW's environmental effects, POTWs in a single state (Earnhart, 2004;Maruya et al, 2012Maruya et al, , 2014Daigger et al, 2014), the effect of POTW emissions on specific species (Vidal-Dorsch et al, 2013a, b), and the processing of specific pollutants at POTWs (for example, Flippin et al, 2014;Balasubramani and Rifai, 2015). In the present study, we examine national or aggregated US POTW emissions to address the general impact of POTWs on US waterways and how those emissions by state facilities contribute to ecological disorganization/green crimes against ecosystems and constitute green-state crimes.…”

Particle size distributions and gas–particle partitioning of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in ambient air during haze days and normal days

“…Although some studies on the concentrations and environmental behaviors of PCDD/Fs in ambient air have been carried out (Chandra Suryani et al, 2015;Vilavert et al, 2014), less attention has focused on PCDD/Fs in ambient air in comparison to PCDD/F emissions from industrial sources (Balasubramani and Rifai, 2015;Liu et al, 2009;Tang et al, 2013). PCDD/Fs can be transported around the world in the atmosphere.…”