TY - JOUR
T1 - Occurrence of PPCPs at a wastewater treatment plant and in soil and groundwater at a land application site
AU - Karnjanapiboonwong, Adcharee
AU - Suski, Jamie G.
AU - Shah, Ankit A.
AU - Cai, Qingsong
AU - Morse, Audra N.
AU - Anderson, Todd A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments This study was partially funded by the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) and the US EPA. Special thanks to individuals for assisting in sample collection and access to the WRP and the LAS.
PY - 2011/3
Y1 - 2011/3
N2 - Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) can reach soil and aquatic environments through land application of wastewater effluent and agricultural runoff. The objective of this research was to assess the fate of PPCPs at field scale. PPCPs were measured systematically in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and in soil and groundwater receiving treated effluent from the WWTP. A land application site in West Texas was used as the study site; it has received treated wastewater effluent from the WWTP for more than 70 years in order to remove additional nutrients and irrigate non-edible crops. Target compounds (estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol, 17α- ethynylestradiol, triclosan, caffeine, ibuprofen, and ciprofloxacin) in wastewater, sewage sludge, soil, and groundwater were determined using HPLC/UV with qualitative confirmatory analyses using GC/MS. Samples were collected quarterly over 12 months for wastewater and sludge samples and over 9 months for soil and groundwater samples. Results indicated that concentrations of PPCPs in wastewater influent, effluent, sludge solid phase, and sludge liquid phase were in the range of non-detected (ND)-183 μg/L, ND-83 μg/L, ND-19 μg/g, and ND-50 μg/L, respectively. Concentrations in soil and groundwater samples were in the range of ND-319 ng/g and ND-1,745 μg/L, respectively. GC/MS confirmation data were consistent with the results of HPLC/UV analyses. Overall, data indicate that PPCPs in the wastewater effluent from the WWTP transport both vertically and horizontally in the soil, and eventually reach groundwater following land application of the effluent.
AB - Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) can reach soil and aquatic environments through land application of wastewater effluent and agricultural runoff. The objective of this research was to assess the fate of PPCPs at field scale. PPCPs were measured systematically in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and in soil and groundwater receiving treated effluent from the WWTP. A land application site in West Texas was used as the study site; it has received treated wastewater effluent from the WWTP for more than 70 years in order to remove additional nutrients and irrigate non-edible crops. Target compounds (estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol, 17α- ethynylestradiol, triclosan, caffeine, ibuprofen, and ciprofloxacin) in wastewater, sewage sludge, soil, and groundwater were determined using HPLC/UV with qualitative confirmatory analyses using GC/MS. Samples were collected quarterly over 12 months for wastewater and sludge samples and over 9 months for soil and groundwater samples. Results indicated that concentrations of PPCPs in wastewater influent, effluent, sludge solid phase, and sludge liquid phase were in the range of non-detected (ND)-183 μg/L, ND-83 μg/L, ND-19 μg/g, and ND-50 μg/L, respectively. Concentrations in soil and groundwater samples were in the range of ND-319 ng/g and ND-1,745 μg/L, respectively. GC/MS confirmation data were consistent with the results of HPLC/UV analyses. Overall, data indicate that PPCPs in the wastewater effluent from the WWTP transport both vertically and horizontally in the soil, and eventually reach groundwater following land application of the effluent.
KW - Groundwater
KW - Land application
KW - Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)
KW - Sludge
KW - Soil contamination
KW - Wastewater
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79951950204&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11270-010-0532-8
DO - 10.1007/s11270-010-0532-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79951950204
VL - 216
SP - 257
EP - 273
JO - Water, Air, and Soil Pollution
JF - Water, Air, and Soil Pollution
SN - 0049-6979
IS - 1-4
ER -