Development of a Method to Better Quantify Levels of the Persistent Organic Pollutants lodinated X-Ray Contrast Media and Artificial Sweeteners Found in Water

摘要

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can cause long term damage to the environment. Those found in water supplies may affect many species. Two classes of organic molecules have come to the attention of regulators and water treatment authorities in recent years; iodinated X-Ray contrast media (XCM) and artificial sweeteners (AS). These molecules are designed to have a high degree of stability and to be unaffected by organic metabolic processes. A sweetener that is rapidly broken down in the mouth does not seem very sweet to the taster. An XCM that was metabolised in the body would not help a radiographer with their diagnosis. It is therefore easy to see how such molecules could become POPs when excreted from the body and passed into the waste water system. The stability and robust nature of these molecules is such that they are frequently unaffected by most treatment regimens used to process wastewater before discharge.