Treatment of Micropollutants in Water and Wastewater

Download Treatment of Micropollutants in Water and Wastewater

Recent studies have indicated the often detection of the micropollutants in the aquatic environment (Kolpin et al., 2002; Loos et al., 2009). The way that these compounds enter the environment depends on their uses and the mode of application. The major routes seem to be agricultural and urban runoff, municipal and industrial wastewater discharge, sludge disposal and accidental spills (Ashton et al., 2004; Becker et al., 2008; Mompelat et al., 2009).In the next paragraphs, data for the occurrence, fate and effects of some micropollutants’ categories will be given. Pesticides have been selected due to their wide use and their well-defined toxicological effects and environmental fate. Five categories of emerging contaminants will be also presented (pharmaceuticals, steroid hormones, perfluorinated compounds, surfactants and personal care products) due to the great interest that has recently arisen for their occurrence in the environment.