Effect-based evaluation of chemical pollutants and mixture effects in the aquatic environment – implications for water reuse

Abstract

It is known that pollution of organic micropollutants of the aquatic environment occurs through insufficient wastewater treatment. Environmental water samples therefore contain a complex mixture of known and unknown compounds and their transformation by-products. Effect-based analytical methods using cultured cells can be used to evaluate the impact of the complex mixture of contaminants that occur in environmental water samples. This thesis aimed to investigate the occurrence of pollutants in different water samples, using effect-based methods as tool for evaluating levels of pollutants through various water treatment methods, sample preparation methods and for a complex mixture assessment.

First, effect-based methods were used to evaluate a full-scale system of intentional reuse of treated wastewater for drinking water production. Where the pollutant burden in the water could be followed through various wastewater treatment steps, out into the recipient water body and finally through drinking water treatment. The highlight of this study was that no negative impact on drinking water quality could be detected from reusing treated wastewater in this system. Next, four different solid-phase extraction methods previously applied in effect-based water quality assessment was evaluated. By assessing three different sample types, treated wastewater, procedural blank and a spiked sample it was concluded that the choice of preparation method was more important for analysing the presence of estrogenic compounds as compared to androgenic compounds in water samples. Lastly, pollutant mixture complexity was investigated by fractioning treated wastewater using high-performance liquid chromatography and comparing bioactivity in the whole, highly complex sample, with sample fractions of reduced complexity. We found that the detected oxidative stress response and aryl hydrocarbon receptor activity was fully dependent on mixture effects, highlighting the implications of the complex mixture of pollutants that occur in the aquatic environment.

Keywords

Effect-based analysis; Reporter gene assays; Pollution of the aquatic environment; Wastewater effluent; Wastewater reuse; Solid-phase extraction; complex mixture assessment

Published in

Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae
2024, number: 2024:82ISBN: 978-91-8046-373-7, eISBN: 978-91-8046-409-3Publisher: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

SLU Authors

• Frieberg, Kim

  • Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences
Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54612/a.2097i2bcln

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/130477