Sources of priority substances entering an urban wastewater catchment—trace organic chemicals

Distribution of 16 EPA-priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sludges collected from nine Tunisian wastewater treatment plants

“…In terms of possible PAH sources in sludge, a recent study revealed that domestic inputs provide the major contribution to PAH load [20]. Other research studies reported that lower molecular weight PAHs typically Naph, Ace, fl, Phen, F and Py were present in household wastewater and light industrial estate [21,22]. PAH levels are generally higher in wastewater from the light industries, probably as a result of wastewater from engine or other automotive washing [23].…”

The mussel caging approach in assessing biological effects of wastewater treatment plant discharges in the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea)

“…Nevertheless, a large variety of chemicals is only partly or not at all eliminated by the water treatment processes currently in use. Pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants such as personal care products, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and nanomaterials as well as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), phthalates and surfactants are present in WWTP effluents (e.g., Halling-Sorensen et al, 1998;Rule et al, 2006).…”

Chemicals in reverse osmosis-treated wastewater: occurrence, health risk, and contribution to residual dissolved organic carbon

“…The high frequency of detection of 1,4-dichlorobenzene in secondary WW is attributed to its long history of domestic use in toilet products, moth repellents, and mildew control agents (NICNAS 2000), and relatively low biodegradation rates in WW treatment (Koe and Shen 1997). Tetrachloroethene is widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics, and its presence in WW input has been linked previously to dry cleaning activities (Rule et al 2006). As relatively small (MW = 147 Da 1,4-dichlorobenzene, 165 Da tetrachloroethene) and uncharged molecules, with relatively high octanol-water partitioning coefficient (logK ow is 3.4 for both chemicals), RO rejection is expected to be poor to moderate (Bellona et al 2004).…”