Occurrence, removal, mass loading and environmental risk assessment of emerging organic contaminants in leachates, groundwaters and wastewaters

A comprehensive study is presented, on the occurrence, removal, mass loading, and environmental risk assessment of 19 multi-class emerging organic contaminants in three Municipal Solid Waste landfills and three Wastewater Treatment Plants located at northeast Poland. The target compounds: methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, buthylparaben, benzophenone, benzophenone-2, benzophenone-3, 3-(4-methylbenzylidene) camphor, N,N-diethyltoluamide, 4-n-octylphenol, 4-n-nonylphenol, triclosan, bisphenol A, diclofenac, clotrimazole, carbamazepine, estrone, 17β-estradiol, diethylstilbestrol were in a wide range of concentration, from below limit of detection to 116 micrograms per liter in leachates and to 18 micrograms per liter in groundwaters and wastewaters. Benzophenone and bisphenol A were found in all analyzed samples. The highest total content of target chemical classes were registered for pharmaceuticals and phenols, 44% and 41%, respectively. Benzophenone-2 and diethylstilbestrol were not detected in all examined samples. In this study, mass loading of target analytes to aquatic ecosystem was calculated. Finally, environmental risk assessment has been presented as the risk quotient for effluent wastewaters and groundwaters on three trophic levels. Diclofenac was found to be the most critical compound in respect of environmental risk.