title: Occurrence, sources, and fate of benzothiazoles in municipal wastewater treatment plants.
abstract: A set of six benzothiazoles was determined in effluents of three municipal wastewater treatment plants. Total concentrations of benzothiazoles ranged from 1.9 to 6.7 microg/ L, with benzothiazole-2-sulfonate (BTSA) being most prominent (35 - 70%), followed by benzothiazole, 2-hydroxybenzothiazole, and 2-methylthi benzothiazole (MTBT). The removal of benzothiazoles in tertiary municipal wastewater treatment was investigated in more detail in one of the plants during two sampling periods of several weeks. Total benzothiazole concentration decreased by 5-28% only. This very limited removal was primarily due to BTSA and MTBT that were either hardly removed or even increased in concentration. In street runoff benzothiazoles exceeded the wastewater concentrations by 1 order of magnitude, showing that surface runoff can be a significant source of benzothiazole emission. In household wastewater total concentrations were in the range of 50-80% of that found in municipal wastewater. These investigations outline that benzothiazoles, a class of polar and biologically active industrial chemicals, are regularly released with treated municipal wastewater and exhibit a considerable lifetime in surface waters.
authors.affiliation: Technical University of Berlin, Department of Water Quality Control, Sekr KF 4, Strasse des 17 Juni 135, D-10623 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Achim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kloepfer
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jekel
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reemtsma
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005858:Germany; D006798:Housing; D007221:Industry; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D013844:Thiazoles; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical