Irrigation of treated wastewater in Braunschweig, Germany: An option to remove pharmaceuticals and musk fragrances

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) Vol. 66; no. 5; pp. 894 - 904
• Main Authors: Ternes, Thomas A., Bonerz, Matthias, Herrmann, Nadine, Teiser, Bernhard, Andersen, Henrik Rasmus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agriculture - methods; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Antibiotics; Antiphlogistics; Applied sciences; arable soils; Biological and medical sciences; chemical residues; Contrast media; drug residues; drugs; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Estrogens; Exact sciences and technology; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated - analysis; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Germany; groundwater contamination; industrial effluents; long term experiments; Musk fragrances; Other industrial wastes. Sewage sludge; Other nutrients. Amendments. Solid and liquid wastes. Sludges and slurries; Perfume - analysis; personal care products; Pharmaceutical Preparations - analysis; Pollution; Pollution, environment geology; Sewage - analysis; sewage sludge; soil amendments; Soil-aquifer treatment; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Waste Disposal, Fluid; Wastes; wastewater irrigation; Wastewaters reuse. Miscellaneous; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Supply - analysis; Water treatment and pollution; Germany; Europe; Germany, Niedersachsen, Braunschweig; Antibiotics; Antiphlogistics; Musk fragrances; Estrogens; Contrast media; Soil-aquifer treatment; Cosmetic; Estrogen; Mobility; Sewage sludge; Transport process; Lipophilic compound; Amendment; Upgrading; Risk assessment; Urban waste water; Organic compounds; Ground water; Drug; Pollutant behavior; Endocrine disruptor; Agricultural soil; Polar compound; Waste reuse; Water pollution
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.06.035

In this study the fate of pharmaceuticals and personal care products which are irrigated on arable land with treated municipal wastewater was investigated. In Braunschweig, Germany, wastewater has been irrigated continuously for more than 45 years. In the winter time only the effluent of the sewage treatment plant (STP) of Braunschweig is used for irrigation, while during summer digested sludge is mixed with the effluent. In the present case study six wells and four lysimeters located in one of the irrigated agricultural fields were monitored with regard to the occurrence of 52 pharmaceuticals and two personal care products (PPCPs; e.g. betablockers, antibiotics, antiphlogistics, carbamazepine, musk fragrances, iodinated contrast media (ICM) and estrogens). No differences in PPCP pollution of the groundwater were found due to irrigation of STP effluents with and without addition of digested sludge, because many polar compounds do not sorb to sludge and lipophilic compounds are not mobile in the soil-aquifer. Most of the selected PPCPs were never detected in any of the lysimeter or groundwater samples, although they were present in the treated wastewater irrigated onto the fields. In the groundwater and lysimeter samples primarily the ICM diatrizoate and iopamidol, the antiepileptic carbamazepine and the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole were detected up to several μg
l
−1, while the acidic pharmaceuticals, musk fragrances, estrogens and betablockers were likely sorbed or transformed while passing the top soil layer. Potential estrogenic effects are likely to disappear after irrigation, since the most potent steroid estrogens were not measurable.