Long-term whole effluent toxicity control: interaction between industrial pretreatment and toxicity reduction evaluation (TRE) programs

摘要

Increased regulatory concern over whole effluent toxicity control for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permittees has warranted the development of effective long-term whole effluent toxicity control strategies. At the municipal level, the Industrial Pretreatment program represents one of the best opportunities for long-term whole effluent toxicity source control and regulation. The Industrial Pretreatment program may be effectively used during three primary stages of NPDES permit toxicity testing: (1) prior to toxicity problems as a preventative tool, (2) durign the TRE program as a means of identifying and controlling sources of the toxicant(s), and (3) following TRE studies as a means of controlling toxicity through surveying potential problem users, cost-effective aquatic toxicity and microbial inhibiton monitoring of users, and public education and outreach programs. Overall, dischargers that have utilized the benefits of the industrial program have been substantially more successful in controlling whole effluent toxicity than those who either did not effectively use the program or were not involved in an Industrial Pretreatment program. In this chapter, we describe the successful connection between the TRE program and the Industrial Pretreatment program in the long-term control of whole effluent toxicity for both industrial and municipal wastewater treatment facilities.