Issue contents | Previous abstract | Next abstract 

Water Practice & Technology © IWA Publishing 2010  |  doi:10.2166/wpt.2010.015

Occurrence and Removal of PPCPs and EDCs in the Detroit River Watershed

Shahram Tabe^1,2, Paul Yang³, Xiaoming Zhao³, Chunyan Hao³, Rajesh Seth², Linda Schweitzer⁴ and Taher Jamal¹

¹Ministry of the Environment, Standards Development Branch, 40 St. Clair Ave. West, Toronto, ON M4V 1M2, Canada. Phone: +1 416 327 3289,
E-mail: shahram.tabe@ontario.ca
²Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave., Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, Canada
E-mail: rseth@uwindsor.ca
³ Ministry of the Environment, Laboratory Services Branch, 125 Resources Road, Etobicoke, ON M9P 3V6, Canada.
E-mail: paul.yang@ontario.ca; xiaoming.zhao@ontario.ca; chunyan.hao@ontario.ca
⁴Chemistry Department, Oakland University, 289 Science and Engineering Building, Rochester, MI 48309-4477, USA.
E-mail: schweitz@oakland.edu

The occurrence of 51 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the Detroit River Watershed (DRW) was investigated. Also, the efficiency of local water treatment plants (WTPs) in removing these pollutants was evaluated. Samples were collected from various locations in the DRW, including the discharge of a sewage treatment plant (STP), downstream of the STP on the Detroit River, the intakes of the WTPs, and treated drinking water. Of the 51 target substances analyzed, 12 were not detected in any of the samples, while 14 were detected consistently in all samples from the STP effluent. The concentration of target chemicals was two to four orders of magnitude higher in the STP effluents than at the intakes of the WTPs. In total, 10 substances were detected in at least 10% of the drinking water samples. Two compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctyl solfonate (PFOS), were found in 90+% of the drinking water samples.

Keywords: pharmaceuticals and personal care products; EDCs; Detroit River Watershed; water treatment plants

Full text PDF