title: Identification of characteristic organic contaminants in wastewaters from modern paper production sites and subsequent tracing in a river.
abstract: The paper industry is one of the most significant industrial branches that contributes to water pollution. Recent studies regarding the chemical composition of wastewaters from modern paper production sites are sparse, and organic contaminants originating from this source may remain undetected and uncontrolled. Therefore, for this study, non-target screening analyses of wastewaters from five different paper production sites were performed, including an extended analysis of one facility, for the identification of volatile non-polar to semi-polar organic contaminants. The identified contaminants were also traced in the adjacent river. Several specific agents related to paper production, including photoinitiators, ink and thermal paper constituents, were present in most wastewaters and were therefore considered to be characteristic paper industry contaminants. A couple of contaminants identified in this study are being reported for the first time and might be toxic, but have been neglected in previous studies. Bisphenol A and 2,4,7,9-tetramethyl-5-decyne-4,7-diol were found in untreated wastewaters, treated wastewater and in river water. Bisphenol A was present in river water downstream from where the paper industry discharges at a concentration that was reported to affect the reproduction of gastropods. Thus, our findings imply that paper industry discharges pose a risk to the populations of sensitive macroinvertebrates.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstrasse 4-20, 52056 Aachen, Germany. Electronic address: loga-pub@emr.rwth-aachen.de.
authors.forename: Larissa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dsikowitzky
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstrasse 4-20, 52056 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Oxana
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Botalova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstrasse 4-20, 52056 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Illgut
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstrasse 4-20, 52056 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sylwana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bosowski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstrasse 4-20, 52056 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schwarzbauer
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis*; D010209:Paper; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Industrial indicators; Industrial pollution; Non-target screening; Paper industry; Thermal paper