Landfill leachates and wastewater of maritime origin as possible sources of endocrine disruptors in municipal wastewater

Barbara K Wilk,Aneta Luczkiewicz,Sylwia Fudala-Ksiazek,Małgorzata Szopińska

doi:10.1007/s11356-019-05566-4

Barbara K Wilk, Aneta Luczkiewicz + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05566-4

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Abstract

In this study, wastewater from municipal services, such as a port wastewater reception facility (PRF-WW) and a municipal solid waste plant (MSWP), was tested for the presence of the suspected endocrine-disrupting compounds phthalates (PAEs) and bisphenol A (BPA). PAEs and BPA were found in this study in high concentrations in raw wastewater obtained from passenger ships (RMT-WWs) (up to 738 μg/L and 957 μg/L, respectively) collected in the Port of Gdynia and in landfill leachates (LLs) (up to 536 μg/L and up to 2202 μg/L, respectively) from a MSWP located near Gdynia. In particular, the presence of reprotoxic di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP, up to 536 μg/L in LLs and up to 738 μg/L in RMT-WWs) requires further action because if this compound, as well as other PAEs and BPA, is not degraded by activated sludge microorganisms, it may reach receiving waters and adversely impact aquatic organisms. Therefore, PAEs and BPA should be removed either during the onsite pretreatment of tested industrial wastewater or during tertiary treatment at municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs, representing end-of-pipe technology).Graphical abstract

Highlights

Proper wastewater management plays a crucial role in achieving good water status and the potential restoration of water resources
The aim of this study is to determine the presence of bisphenol A (BPA) and selected PAEs (DMP—dimethyl phthalate, Diethyl phthalate (DEP)—diethyl phthalate, di-n-Butyl phthalate (DnBP)—di-n-butyl phthalate, Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP)—benzyl butyl phthalate, di(2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)—bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and Diisodecyl phthalate (DnOP)— di-n-octyl phthalate) in wastewater generated by municipal solid waste plant (MSWP) (LLs) and originated from Port reception facilities (PRF-WW) (MT-WW)
In this study, the presence of BPA and PAEs, regarded as endocrine-disrupting compounds, was determined in the wastewater generated by municipal services, such as maritime wastewater (MTWW) (PMT-WWs and Raw wastewater from a cruise ship (RMT-WW)) from cruise ships calling at the Port of Gdynia and landfill leachates (LLs) (MP-LLs and PP-LLs) from MSWPs

Summary

Introduction

Proper wastewater management plays a crucial role in achieving good water status and the potential restoration of water resources. Micropollutants can enter the aquatic environment through both diffuse and point sources; in urbanized regions, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a crucial role in their dissemination. Most EU countries are convinced that the presence of micropollutants in the environment poses a serious problem, in highly populated regions, where water resources are used for drinking and irrigation purposes and as wastewater receivers. Of special concern are water bodies that receive a high fraction of treated wastewater discharged from several WWTPs simultaneously because the combined and cumulative impact of micropollutants can occur under such conditions (Logar et al 2014). In many countries, reduced dilution potential of surface water bodies occurs during summer droughts, increasingly reported in recent years (Englert et al 2013)

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