TY - JOUR
T1 - Impacts of wastewater treatment plant upgrades on the distribution and risks of pharmaceuticals in receiving rivers
AU - Su, Du
AU - Ben, Weiwei
AU - Strobel, Bjarne W.
AU - Qiang, Zhimin
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Upgrades of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and full-scale application of additional advanced oxidation processes have been proven to be effective in reducing the nutrient emissions to the environment; however, the impacts of WWTP upgrades on the receiving waters with regard to the occurrence and ecological risks of pharmaceuticals are still unclear. In this study, 27 pharmaceuticals with diverse physicochemical properties were monitored in four rivers in Beijing, each of which was heavily impacted by a large-scale WWTP. Three-year sampling campaigns were conducted, covering the periods before and after the WWTP upgrades. The results show that the newly added combined treatment processes (e.g., biological filter, ultrafiltration, ozonation, and NaClO disinfection) reduced the total pharmaceutical concentrations in the effluents by 45–74%. The composition profiles reveal that the upgrades of two studied WWTPs resulted in a significant reduction of pharmaceutical concentrations in the receiving rivers, while little impacts were observed for the other rivers. The risk assessment shows that the acute toxic pressures in the studied rivers were generally low and the WWTP upgrades were conducive to reduce the risks for most of pharmaceuticals. However, erythromycin and ofloxacin still posed high risk, indicating the potential adverse effect of pharmaceuticals on aquatic environment.
AB - Upgrades of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and full-scale application of additional advanced oxidation processes have been proven to be effective in reducing the nutrient emissions to the environment; however, the impacts of WWTP upgrades on the receiving waters with regard to the occurrence and ecological risks of pharmaceuticals are still unclear. In this study, 27 pharmaceuticals with diverse physicochemical properties were monitored in four rivers in Beijing, each of which was heavily impacted by a large-scale WWTP. Three-year sampling campaigns were conducted, covering the periods before and after the WWTP upgrades. The results show that the newly added combined treatment processes (e.g., biological filter, ultrafiltration, ozonation, and NaClO disinfection) reduced the total pharmaceutical concentrations in the effluents by 45–74%. The composition profiles reveal that the upgrades of two studied WWTPs resulted in a significant reduction of pharmaceutical concentrations in the receiving rivers, while little impacts were observed for the other rivers. The risk assessment shows that the acute toxic pressures in the studied rivers were generally low and the WWTP upgrades were conducive to reduce the risks for most of pharmaceuticals. However, erythromycin and ofloxacin still posed high risk, indicating the potential adverse effect of pharmaceuticals on aquatic environment.
KW - Pharmaceuticals
KW - Receiving river
KW - Risk assessment
KW - Upgrade
KW - Wastewater treatment plant
U2 - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124331
DO - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124331
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 33183833
AN - SCOPUS:85095825820
VL - 406
JO - Journal of Hazardous Materials
JF - Journal of Hazardous Materials
SN - 0304-3894
M1 - 124331
ER -