Removal of hazardous substances in municipal wastewater treatment plants

Chemical pollution poses a threat to the aquatic environment and to human health. Wastewater treatment plants are the last defensive line between the aquatic environment and emissions of pollutants. This study focuses on identification of most relevant hazardous substances in Estonian municipal wast...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water science and technology 2020-05, Vol.81 (9), p.2011-2022
Main Authors: Kõrgmaa, Vallo, Laht, Mailis, Rebane, Riin, Lember, Erki, Pachel, Karin, Kriipsalu, Mait, Tenno, Taavo, Iital, Arvo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic environment
Biofilms
Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis
Chemical contamination
Chemical pollutants
Chemical pollution
Effluents
Environmental quality
Fluorides
Hazardous materials
Hazardous Substances
Hazardous wastes
Human wastes
Municipal wastewater
Pesticides
Pollutants
Removal
Sewage
Sewage sludge
Sludge
Statistical analysis
Statistical methods
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Waste Water
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment plants
Water treatment
Wetlands
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Summary:Chemical pollution poses a threat to the aquatic environment and to human health. Wastewater treatment plants are the last defensive line between the aquatic environment and emissions of pollutants. This study focuses on identification of most relevant hazardous substances in Estonian municipal wastewater and their fate in the treatment process. During this study, seasonal wastewater and sewage sludge samples were collected from nine municipal wastewater treatment plants and analyzed for 282 hazardous substances, including EU (n = 45) and Estonian (n = 31) priority substances. Results of this study show that several substances that are subject to international restrictions (e.g. Stockholm Convention) are still present in untreated sewage. Wastewater treatment systems that had a greater level of complexity (TEC >5) were more successful in removing hazardous substances. Statistical analyses showed that removal efficiency of organic hazardous substances had significant (p-value
ISSN:0273-1223
1996-9732
DOI:10.2166/wst.2020.264