Mass fluxes per capita of organic contaminants from on-site sewage treatment facilities

• This study is the first attempt to quantify environmental fluxes per capita of organic contaminants discharged from on-site sewage treatment facilities (OSSFs) in affected recipients. Five sites were monitored around the River Fyris in Sweden: three mainly affected by OSSFs and two mainly affected by municipal sewage treatment plants (STPs). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine environmental concentrations of 30 anthropogenic contaminants, including organophosphorus compounds, rubber and plastic additives, UV stabilizers, fragrances, surfactant ingredients and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Uni- and multivariate statistical analysis of the most frequently detected contaminants showed that median fluxes per capita of tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate, tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate, tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate, and n-butylbenzene sulfonamide were similar at OSSF and STP sites, but the mass fluxes per capita of tris-(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate, 2-(methylthio)benzothiazole, and galaxolide, were significantly lower (~2 to 3-fold) at OSSF sites than at STP sites (Mann-Whitney, α = 0.05). Differences between these sites were larger in samples collected in summer and autumn than in samples collected in winter. Deviations likely originated from differences in treatment technology and distances between source and sampling sites. Further studies are needed to characterize mass fluxes per capita of contaminants in waters that directly receive discharges from OSSFs.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi -- Analytisk kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences -- Analytical Chemistry (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Oceanografi, hydrologi och vattenresurser (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Oceanography, Hydrology and Water Resources (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Decentralized wastewater treatment systems

environmental load

surface water

diffuse sources

GC×GC-HRMS

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

art (subject category)