Abstract
A long-term investigation, which covered 6 sampling campaigns over one year, was carried out to evaluate the occurrence, removal and risk of nonylphenol (NP), bisphenol A (BPA) and triclosan (TCS) in two full-scale sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Guangdong, South China. The target compounds were detected in every sample. The influent concentrations of NP were in the ppb level, while TCS in the ppt level. The seasonal variation in the influent was observed due to human consumption and the rainfall. Domestic sewage discharge was an important source of TCS to the STPs. Three kinds of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) could not be completely removed in the STPs, and the activated sludge treatment process contributed to most of the removal of compounds. In addition, the oxic tank and the anaerobic tank both showed good removal performances for target EDCs. According to the results produced from the calculation of the risk quotient, in the STP1 effluents TCS could pose a high risk to the aquatic environment, and STP2 effluents existed high risk of estrogen activity.
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