Hospital waste water: health risk for human and environment by cytostatic drug emissions? Part I: Model calculation and chemical monitoring

Meeting Abstract from the 13th Scientific Symposium of the Austrian Pharmacological Society (APHAR). Joint Meeting with the Austrian Society of Toxicology (ASTOX) and the Hungarian Society for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology (MFT), Vienna, Austria. 2224 November 2007(VLID)90202

BMC Pharmacology / Hospital waste water: health risk for human and environment by cytostatic drug emissions? Part II: Biological monitoring (genotoxicity assays) and risk assessment

Meeting Abstract from the 13th Scientific Symposium of the Austrian Pharmacological Society (APHAR). Joint Meeting with the Austrian Society of Toxicology (ASTOX) and the Hungarian Society for Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology (MFT) Vienna, Austria. 22\u201324 November 200

Simultaneous Adsorption of Heavy Metals from Roadway Stormwater Runoff Using Different Filter Media in Column Studies

Stormwater runoff from roadways often contains a variety of contaminants such as heavy metals, which can adversely impact receiving waters. The filter media in stormwater filtration/infiltration systems play a significant role in the simultaneous removal of multiple pollutants. In this study, the capacity of five filter media—natural quartz sand (QS), sandy soil (SS) and three mineral-based technical filter media (TF-I, TF-II and TF-III)—to adsorb heavy metals (Cu, Pb and Zn) frequently detected in stormwater, as well as remobilization due to de-icing salt (NaCl), were evaluated in column experiments. The column breakthrough data were used to predict lifespan of the filter media. Column experiment operated under high hydraulic load showed that all technical filters and sandy soil achieved >97%, 94% and >80% of Pb, Cu and Zn load removals, respectively, while natural quartz sand (QS) showed very poor performance. Furthermore, treatment of synthetic stormwater by the soil and technical filter media met the requirements of the Austrian regulation regarding maximum effluent concentrations and minimum removal efficiencies for groundwater protection. The results showed that application of NaCl had only a minor impact on the remobilization of heavy metals from the soil and technical filter media, while the largest release of metals was observed from the QS column. Breakthrough analysis indicated that load removal efficiencies at column exhaustion (SS, TF-I, TF-II and TF-III) were >95% for Cu and Pb and 80–97% for Zn. Based on the adsorption capacities, filtration systems could be sized to 0.4 to 1% (TF-I, TF-II and TF-III) and 3.5% (SS) of their impervious catchment area and predicated lifespan of each filter media was at least 35, 36, 41 and 29 years for SS, TF-I, TF-II and TF-III, respectively. The findings of this study demonstrate that soil—based and technical filter media are effective in removing heavy metals and can be utilized in full-stormwater filtration systems

Mercury Concentrations in Dust from Dry Gas Cleaning of Sinter Plant and Technical Removal Options

Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element and has been released through human activities over an extended period. The major source is the steel industry, especially sinter plants. During a sintering process, high amounts of dust and gaseous emission are produced. These gases contain high loads of SOx and NOX as well as toxic pollutants, such as heavy metals like Hg. These toxic pollutants are removed by adsorbing to solids, collected as by-products and deposited as hazardous waste. The by-products contain a high amount of salt, resulting in a high water solubility. In this study, to ultimately reduce the waste amount in landfills, leachates of the by-products have been produced. The dissolved Hg concentration and its distribution across different charges were determined. Hg concentrations between 3793 and 12,566 µg L−1 were measured in the leachates. The objective was to lower the Hg concentration in leachates by chemical precipitation with sodium sulfide (Na2S) or an organic sulfide followed by filtration. Both reagents precipitate Hg with removal rates of up to 99.6% for the organic sulfide and 99.9% for Na2S, respectively. The dose of the precipitator as well as the initial Hg concentration affected the removal rate. In addition to Hg, other relevant heavy metals have to be included in the calculation of the amount of precipitator as well. Between relevant heavy metals including Hg and sulfide, the ratio should be more than 1.5. The novelty of this study is the measurement and treatment of Hg in wastewater with a high ionic strength. The high salt concentrations did not influence the efficiency of the removal methods. An adjustment of the precipitator dose for each sample is necessary, because an overdose potentially leads to the re-dissolving of Hg. It could be shown that the emission limit of 0.005 mg L−1 could be reached especially by precipitation with Na2S

Methodological approach towards the environmental significance of uncharacterized substances - quaternary ammonium compounds as an example

The European Commission has presented a list of priority substances in addition to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) adopted in December 2000. The list of priority substances is a matter of continuous review hence other relevant substances identified as hazardous can be implemented for regulation. In that regard a group of potential hazardous substances, quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC) is selected for further investigation and assessment, as QAC are widely used as disinfectants, biocides, and detergents among a variety of other applications. This paper provides information on a general interdisciplinary approach for assessing the potential significance of chemical substances hitherto not described in a coherent way considering QACs as example. Benzalkonium chlorides (BAC) and dialkyldimethylammonium chlorides (DDAC) were selected as key compounds because of their product and application profiles, as well as their ecotoxicological properties. For basic environmental risk evaluation, QAC usage pattern, emissions from single source polluters, the fate in waste water treatment plants, concentrations in surface water and sediments, as well as ecotoxicological effective concentrations were analyzed in this study. Based on substrate characteristics and use pattern relevant single source polluters were identified and emission concentrations as well as loads discharged into the sewerage were determined. Effluents from hospitals and laundries but also from wellness resorts showed high effluent concentrations compared to municipal waste water. To describe the fate of QACs during waste water treatment, adsorption and degradation behavior were determined. Additionally the influence of QACs on biological processes, especially nitrification was assessed. Partition coefficient values (log kOC) for QACs were determined between 4.35 for DDAC-C10 and 5.69 for DDAC-C18 (data not shown) indicating the high adsorption potential of those substances to the activated sludge in the waste water treatment plants. Results for BAC-C12-18 were found to be in the same range. Concentrations for nitrification inhibition in waste water treatment plants lay above concentrations found in municipal waste water but in the range of concentrations discharged by single source polluter