Analysis, occurrence, fate and behaviour of emerging micropollutants in wastewater and the receiving environment
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The presence of xenobiotics - such as pharmaceutically active compounds, endocrine disrupting compounds and pesticides - in the aquatic environment has risen great environmental concern due to their high toxicity even at low concentrations. These so-called micropollutants have been detected in all aquatic compartments and are continuously entering the environment through via point and non-point sources. In particular, the removal of xenobiotics by means of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is known to be incomplete for several compounds, and more efforts are needed in this context. To tackle this problem, the European Union is updating its legislation. The Directive 2013/39/EU set environmental quality standards in freshwater for 76 priority substances, mainly heavy metals, traditional pesticides and industrial chemicals. With regards of the contaminants of emerging concern, 17 candidates for inclusion in the priority substances list have been included in a Watch list (EU Decision 2015/495). These compounds must be monitored by all member states to collect data on their occurrence in freshwater. Risk assessment will be performed as a decision-making tool to determine whether they pose a risk to or via the aquatic environment. This thesis aims at filling knowledge gaps on micropollutants and in particular on the Watch list compounds at three levels simultaneously: analytical, monitoring and removal possibilities.
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