title: A pilot study on the assessment of trace organic contaminants including pharmaceuticals and personal care products from on-site wastewater treatment systems along Skaneateles Lake in New York State, USA.
abstract: On-site wastewater treatment systems (OWTSs or septic systems) are designed to treat and dispose effluents on the same property that produces the wastewater. Approximately 25% of the U.S. population is served by such facilities. Nevertheless, studies on the treatment efficiency and discharge of organic contaminants through septic effluents are lacking. This pilot study showed the occurrence of organic contaminants including pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), perfluoroalkyl surfactants (PFASs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in septic effluents, adjacent lake water samples, household drinking water in homes that use lake water or a well adjacent to the lake as a source of drinking water, and offshore lake water samples. Septic effluent as well as lake and tap water samples were collected from several households with OWTSs around Skaneateles Lake located in central New York. The advanced on-site systems were installed in some households for the purpose of limiting nutrient levels in the effluent to protect the local surface water. Additionally, because many of these systems serve homes with limited land, advanced treatment systems were needed. The median concentrations of ten PPCPs (ranged from 0.45 to 388 ng/L) and eleven PFASs (ranged from 0.20 to 14.6 ng/L) in septic water were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.01) than in lake water samples. The median concentrations of PPCPs and PFASs in lake and tap water samples were not significantly different (p ≥ 0.65). The median concentrations of ∑PBDEs in septic, lake, and tap water samples were 7.47, 3.49, and 2.22 ng/L, respectively, and those for ∑PCBs were 33.1, 29.2, and 28.6 ng/L, respectively. The mass flux of PPCPs (i.e. the mass flow of PPCPs per unit area per unit time) through the disposal of treated septic effluent from textile biofilter and aerobic treatments to the dispersal unit ranged from 12 (carbamazepine) to 66900 μg/m(2)/day (caffeine) whereas that for PFASs ranged from 7.0 (perfluorobutanesulfonate) to 833 μg/m(2)/day (perfluorooctanoic acid). Based on the ratio of measured concentrations and method detection limit, triclocarban, perfluorooctanoic acid, and perfluorooctanesulfonate have the potential to be used as chemical tracers of septic water contamination in Skaneateles Lake. The median concentrations of atenolol, a beta-blocker drug, in septic water were significantly (ρ = 0.86, p = 0.01) correlated with enterococci counts.
authors.affiliation: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, P.O. Box 509, Albany, NY 12201-0509, United States.
authors.forename: Bikram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Subedi
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Health, New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Water Supply Protection, Empire State Plaza, Corning Tower - 1110, Albany, NY 12237, United States.
authors.forename: Neculai
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Codru
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Health, New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Water Supply Protection, Empire State Plaza, Corning Tower - 1110, Albany, NY 12237, United States; University at Albany, State University of New York, School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Rensselaer, NY 12144, United States.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Dziewulski
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Health, New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Water Supply Protection, Empire State Plaza, Corning Tower - 1110, Albany, NY 12237, United States; University at Albany, State University of New York, School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Rensselaer, NY 12144, United States.
authors.forename: Lloyd R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, P.O. Box 509, Albany, NY 12201-0509, United States.
authors.forename: Jingchuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, P.O. Box 509, Albany, NY 12201-0509, United States.
authors.forename: Sehun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.affiliation: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, P.O. Box 509, Albany, NY 12201-0509, United States; University at Albany, State University of New York, School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Rensselaer, NY 12144, United States.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Braun-Howland
authors.affiliation: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, P.O. Box 509, Albany, NY 12201-0509, United States.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Minihane
authors.affiliation: Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, P.O. Box 509, Albany, NY 12201-0509, United States; University at Albany, State University of New York, School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Rensselaer, NY 12144, United States; Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science and Experimental Biochemistry Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: Kurunthachalam.Kannan@health.ny.gov.
authors.forename: Kurunthachalam
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kannan
mesh_terms: D006795:Household Products / Q000032:analysis*; D060106:Lakes / Q000737:chemistry; D009518:New York; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: On-site wastewater treatment; PBDEs; PCBs; PPCPs; Perfluorinated compounds; Septic effluent