EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Research on Treatability and Toxicity in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

摘要

An overview of the EPA's toxic control research program for municipal wastewater treatment is described. The program involves research in three areas: treatability of specific toxics; toxicity reduction evaluations using biomonitoring approaches; and enhanced control of toxics in biological wastewater treatment. Fate-in treatment data is provided for specific representative toxics during conventional municipal wastewater treatment. Progress on developing predictive methods for estimating fate-in treatment from molecular properties includes an effective correlation of partitioning of specific toxics between the aqueous and particulate phases of wastewater, and a preliminary correlation for predicting aerobic biodegradation rates from molecular structural properties. The elements of toxicity reduction evaluations are presented. Initial case history results from ongoing toxicity reduction evaluation studies include work involving both ecosystem and health effect bioassays. Methods for tracing toxicity to its sources and for assessing its treatability are described.