Survey of priority substances entering thirty English wastewater treatment works

Abstract

Crude influent sewages were collected from 30 English wastewater treatment works representing rural, urban and industrial catchments as part of a screening study to assess the significance of the concentrations of substances from the Water Framework Directive priority pollutants list in crude sewage. Composite samples were analysed for a range of determinands including metals and organic compounds. Of the determinands quantified, the pesticides were almost exclusively below the limit of detection. Most trace metals (with the exception of mercury) were detectable in all wastewaters, reflecting their ubiquitous nature. Organic determinands detected in the influent at μg/L levels included surfactants (linear alkylbenzene sulphonates and nonylphenol ethoxylates), phthalates (diethylhexyl phthalate), polynuclear hydrocarbons and solvents. Trace concentrations of trichlorobenzene, tributyltin and polychlorinated biphenyl 153 were detected in a limited number of works. Little correlation was observed between runoff or trade effluent inputs entering the works and determinand concentration (chromium being the only exception).

The effectiveness of conventional trickling filter treatment plants at reducing concentrations of copper in wastewaters

“…At most of the sites investigated, the concentrations of copper present in the crude sewage were in the lower range of values recently reported (Karvelas et al, 2003;Rule et al, 2006;Olivieira et al, 2007). Industrial inputs were not significant at the sites studied, and diurnal variations indicated domestic users may be an important source of copper to the STWs.…”

“…However, most contemporary data available on copper concentrations in sewage (Sorme and Lingerkvist, 2002;Karvelas et al, 2003;Buzier et al, 2006;Rule et al, 2006;Oliveira et al, 2007) focus on total metal, leaving a paucity of information on the dissolved fraction, despite phase distribution being recognised as a significant factor in determining the mechanism and extent of copper removal in STW (Kempton et al, 1983;Rudd et al, 1983a;Lawson et al, 1984a;Kempton et al, 1987a, b).…”

An Evaluation of Metal Removal During Wastewater Treatment: The Potential to Achieve More Stringent Final Effluent Standards

“…Recent studies have, however, indicated that the significance of trade emissions is decreasing in some areas, with analysis of the crude sewage from thirty English STW serving a range of catchments (rural, urban, industrial and/or mixed) revealing no apparent correlation between metal concentrations in crude sewage and industrial input (Rule et al, 2006a).…”

Measurements and PCA/APCS Analyses of Volatile Organic Compounds in Kaohsiung Municipal Sewer Systems, Southern Taiwan

“…Chlorinated organics dominated the A-Sewer, since they are largely used for organic solvents and oil emulsion cleaners in industrial parks (Wilkie et al, 1996;Orchard et al, 2000;Ndon et al, 2000;Escalas et al, 2003;Rule et al, 2006). However, aromatics dominated the B-Sewer, which are largely used in the plastic, painting and resin industries (Cheng et al, 2008).…”