title: Assessment of toxicological profiles of the municipal wastewater effluents using chemical analyses and bioassays.
abstract: The hazardous chemical contamination of untreated wastewater and secondary effluent from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of the city of Zagreb, Croatia was comprehensively characterized using large-volume solid-phase extraction (SPE) and silica gel fractionation, followed by a detailed analysis of the resulting extracts by a combination of chemical and bioassay methods. Over 100 individual contaminants or closely related-contaminant groups were identified by high-resolution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF). Ecotoxicity profiling of the investigated samples, including cytotoxicity, chronic toxicity and EROD activity; inhibition of the multixenobiotic resistance (MXR), genotoxicity and estrogenic potential, revealed the most significant contribution of toxic compounds to be present in polar fractions. Wastewater treatment using conventional activated sludge process reduced the initial toxicity of raw wastewater to various extents, ranging from 28% for algal toxicity to 73.2% for an estrogenic activity. The most efficient toxicity removal was observed for the polar compounds.
authors.affiliation: Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Bijenicka 54, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Tvrtko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Smital
authors.forename: Senka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Terzic
authors.forename: Roko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zaja
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Senta
authors.forename: Branka
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pivcevic
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Popovic
authors.forename: Iva
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mikac
authors.forename: Knut Erik
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Tollefsen
authors.forename: Kevin V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Marijan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahel
mesh_terms: D001681:Biological Assay; D005591:Chemical Fractionation; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D002947:Cities; D017523:Croatia; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 / Q000032:analysis; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry; D058428:Silica Gel; D052616:Solid Phase Extraction; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D058428:Silica Gel; D019363:Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1