Occurrence, sources, and fate of trichloroacetic acid in swiss waters

Abstract

Abstract-The occurrence, sources, and fate of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) has been investigated in surface waters, ground waters, drinking waters, wastewaters, and rainwater in Switzerland. The concentrations found in surface waters varied between less than 27 ng/L (limit of quantification) and 340 ng/L, whereas the concentrations in ground water were always below 27 ng/L. It was found that the main sources of TCA in surface waters were the effluents of wastewater treatment plants (average concentration, 430 ng/L; range, 40-1060 ng/L). The average TCA concentration in rainwater was 300 ng/L range, (Ͻ27-900 ng/L). A dynamic mathematical model revealed that TCA is not significantly degraded in a lake (half-life Ͼ230 d). A detailed mass balance in the catchment area of a small lake (Greifensee) and a very rough mass balance over Switzerland indicate that rain is the major source of TCA in Switzerland (Ͼ90%), but they also show that about 60 to 80% of the TCA deposited by rain is eliminated, most probably in the soil.

Concentrations and Mass Fluxes of Chloroacetic Acids and Trifluoroacetic Acid in Rain and Natural Waters in Switzerland

“…Materials. Reference haloacetic acid compounds and 2,2-dichloropropionic acid (2, were purchased from Aldrich (Steinheim, Germany) >98% and were used as received. The derivatization agent 1-(pentafluorophenyl) diazoethane was synthesized following the procedure described by Meese (26), filled in tight 0.8 mL glass vials under argon atmosphere and stored at -80 °C.…”

“…Despite various reports on the occurrence of haloacetic acids in the environment have been published, there is still a lack of more comprehensive studies that provide a data base for the quantification of mass fluxes on a larger scale. In the study described in this paper, the occurrence, the fate, and the mass fluxes of MCA, DCA, TCA and TFA have been assessed simultaneously in the aquatic environment in Switzerland which covers an area of 41,000 km 2 . The very divers topography of Switzerland (see Figure 1 and Table 1) represents an ideal location to investigate both local point sources and diffuse input routes of haloacetic acids.…”

Traitement des eaux de pluie par photocatalyse solaire

“…Les eaux de pluie, récupérées après ruissellement sur toitures, ne sont pas «pures » : les apports de polluants atmosphériques se présentent sous forme de particules fines qui retombent en période de temps sec et sous forme de retombées humides qui englobent la pollution contenue dans les pluies (Durand, 2003;Chebbo, 1992). La contamination de ces eaux est fortement influencée par l'environnement du site, les conditions météorologiques, la nature de la toiture, les activités humaines et animales … Ainsi, de nombreux composés organiques (pesticides, acides haloacétiques, HAPs, …) et minéraux (métaux, anions et cations divers) peuvent être retrouvées dans les eaux de pluie (Ledin et al, 2002;Garnaud et al, 2001;Garnaud et al, 1999;Müller et al, 1996;Baez et al, 1997), souvent accompagnées de microorganismes (Yaziz et al, 1989;Simmons et al, 2001;Evans et al, 2006;Crabtree et al, 1996). Ainsi, de par l'utilisation de quantités importantes de produits phytosanitaires, il est possible de retrouver des quantités non négligeables de pesticides dans l'atmosphère (Vallet, 2004;Oramip, 2003) et dans les eaux de pluie, pouvant atteindre plus de 1 µg/L dans les premiers instants d'épisodes pluvieux (Lacoste et al, 2004 ;Bucheli et al, 1998).…”

Simultaneous Determination of Haloacetic Acids in Environmental Waters using Electrospray Ionization Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

“…Possible sources of haloacetic acids in environmental waters are chlorinated drinking water [7,8], waste water [1,2], and secondary products of the photooxidation of halocarbons [4]. Because of the significant toxicity of haloacetic acids [9 -12], they have to be determined in the environment.…”