Anthropogenic micropollutants in water: impacts - risks - measures
Eawag News 67, June 2009
complete issue [pdf, 3.2MB]
Editorial: Chemicals are ubiquitous
Rik Eggen
In Fokus
New challenges in the assessment of chemical
Kristin Schirmer
Chemicals
– in textiles, detergents, medicines, sunscreens, canned products and insect
sprays – are an integral, often indispensable, part of our daily lives. Even
so, the widespread use of these substances calls for constant, critical
evaluation. [...]
Dynamics of biocide and pesticide input
Irene Wittmer
Biocides and
pesticides are used to control harmful organisms in agriculture and in urban
areas. But how do these substances ultimately find their way into natural
waters? And is agriculture in fact the main source of water pollution? These
questions are being investigated by Eawag researchers in various projects. [...]
Effects of fluctuating contaminant concentrations
Roman Ashauer
Is it true
that “the dose makes the poison”? How long does it take for exposed organisms
to recover? What are the effects of sequential exposure to contaminants? These
are some of the questions we are trying to answer with the aid of
toxicokinetic/toxicodynamic models and experiments. [...]
Transformation products - relevant risk factors?
Kathrin Fenner
Chemical
substances can be transformed in the environment into products that are more
stable, more readily water-soluble and even, in certain cases, more toxic than
the parent compound. Eawag is developing methods that will allow the risk of
these transformation products to be better assessed. [...]
Interaction of multiple stressors
Marc Suter
In natural
waters, organisms are exposed to a mixture of chemicals and are
also affected by other stressors such as temperature, ultraviolet radiation,
parasites and pathogens. At Eawag, the risks associated with multiple stressors
are being assessed using various methods, including analysis of altered protein
expression patterns. [...]
Effects of engineered nanoparticles
Renata Behra
As
nanoparticles are already widely used, it was only too likely that they would
ultimately find their way into the environment. This has now been demonstrated
for the first time by Eawag studies – which also show how engineered
nanoparticles can exert toxic effects on aquatic organisms. [...]
Eliminating micropollutants: wastewater treatment methods
Christian Abegglen
In many cases,
micropollutants are only partly eliminated at wastewater treatment plants. The
remaining fraction, together with any transformation products, enters receiving
waters with the treated effluents. What options can modern process engineering
offer to improve elimination performance?. [...]
Eliminating micropollutants: efficiency assessment
Juliane Hollender
Various ways
of upgrading wastewater treatment plants so as to enhance the elimination of
micropollutants are currently being considered. But what chemical and
biological indicators can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of additional
treatment steps? [...]
Evaluation of surface waters in Switzerland and Europe
Michael Schärer
Micropollutants
pose growing challenges for water protection both nationally and
internationally. As part of the FOEN’s “MicroPoll Strategy” project, the
contamination of surface waters was analysed. Based on the findings of this
study, an evaluation concept is currently being elaborated in Switzerland,
taking account of ongoing developments in the European Union. [...]
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