Occurrence and fate of emerging wastewater contaminants in Western Balkan Region.
This paper reports on a comprehensive reconnaissance of over seventy individual wastewater contaminants in the region of Western Balkan (WB; Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia), including some prominent classes of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products, surfactants and their degradation products, plasticizers, pesticides, insect repellents, and flame retardants. All determinations were carried out using a multiresidue analytical approach, based on the application of gas chromatographic and liquid chromatographic techniques coupled to mass spectrometric detection. The results confirmed a widespread occurrence of the emerging contaminants in municipal wastewaters of the region. The most prominent contaminant classes, determined in municipal wastewaters, were those derived from aromatic surfactants, including linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS) and alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APEO), with the concentrations in raw wastewater reaching into the mg/l range. All other contaminants were present in much lower concentrations, rarely exceeding few microg/l. The most abundant individual compounds belonged to several classes of pharmaceuticals (antimicrobials, analgesics and antiinflammatories, beta-blockers and lipid regulators) and personal care products (fragrances). Due to the rather poor wastewater management practices in WB countries, with less than 5% of all wastewaters being biologically treated, most of the contaminants present in wastewaters reach ambient waters and may represent a significant environmental concern.
Terzić
Senka
S
Center for Marine and Environmental Research, Ruder Bosković Institute, Bijenicka 54, 10002 Zagreb, Croatia. terzic@irb.hr
Senta
Ivan
I
Ahel
Marijan
M
Gros
Meritxell
M
Petrović
Mira
M
Barcelo
Damia
D
Müller
Jutta
J
Knepper
Thomas
T
Martí
Isabel
I
Ventura
Francesc
F
Jovancić
Petar
P
Jabucar
Dalila
D
D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006795:Household Products / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007302:Insect Repellents / Q000032:analysis; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis; D010968:Plasticizers / Q000032:analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012722:Sewage / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000032:analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D005411:Flame Retardants; D007302:Insect Repellents; D010575:Pesticides; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D010968:Plasticizers; D012722:Sewage; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical