Reducing aquatic micropollutants – Increasing the focus on input prevention and integrated emission management

Kümmerer, Klaus; Dionysiou, Dionysios D.; Olsson, Oliver; Fatta‐Kassinos, Despo

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.219

Cited by 94 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 140 publications

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“…Anthropogenic pollutants, which include pharmaceuticals such as lipid regulators, anticonvulsants and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, have been found in aquatic environments worldwide (Heberer 2002;Luo et al 2014;Ternes et al 2015;Noguera-Oviedo and Aga 2016). Many of these pollutants are not removed in conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and are therefore discharged into receiving waters (Eggen et al 2014;Tran et al 2018;Kümmerer et al 2019). Pharmaceuticals are bioactive substances that are designed to cause physiological effects in living organisms, and the risks of their adverse effects on ecosystems have increasingly been recognised (German Environment Agency 2016; Ternes 1998).…”

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confidence: 99%

Novel metabolomic method to assess the effect-based removal efficiency of advanced wastewater treatment techniques

et al. 2020

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Environmental contextAdvanced wastewater treatment is required to remove pharmaceuticals and many other consumer chemicals from wastewater effluent. There are conflicting findings, however, on the toxicity of treated effluent, and its effect on living organisms is often neglected. We show that the effect-based removal efficiency of wastewater treatment technologies can be assessed by metabolomic methods, and that this approach contributes to a safer and more controlled water quality. AbstractThere are conflicting findings on the toxicity of effluent from wastewater treatment plants, and only limited possibilities for assessing the effect-based removal efficiency (EBRE) of different treatment techniques. We describe a metabolomics approach to detect perturbations in fatty acid catabolic pathways as a proxy for biological effects. Metabolites in three fatty acid pathways were analysed in a common damselfly larva (Coenagrion hastulatum) by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The larvae were exposed for one week to either conventionally treated effluent (activated sludge treatment), effluent additionally treated with ozone, or effluent additionally treated with biochar filtration, and results were compared with those from tap water control exposure. Five lipoxygenase-derived oxylipins (9,10,13-TriHOME, 9,12,13-TriHOME, 9-HODE, 9-HOTrE, and 13-HOTrE) decreased in response to conventionally treated effluent exposure. By using an additional treatment step, oxylipin levels were restored with exception of 9,10,13-TriHOME (ozonated effluent), and 9-HOTrE and 13-HOTrE (effluent filtered with biochar). Thus, exposure to wastewater effluent affected fatty acid metabolite levels in damselfly larvae, and a subset of the analysed metabolites may serve as indicators for biological effects in biota in response to effluent exposure. To that effect, our findings suggest a new metabolomics protocol for assessing EBRE.

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confidence: 99%

Novel metabolomic method to assess the effect-based removal efficiency of advanced wastewater treatment techniques

et al. 2020

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“…The most remarkable result was a highly positive effect (35% less toxic pressure, expressed as multi-substance potentially affected fraction, msPAF) of the phasing out of 26 substances of very high concern (SVHC) listed on the REACH Candidate List (out of the 1357 chemicals registered under REACH that were included in the 'future management' scenario). This clearly shows the high potential of focused regulatory measures to reduce the total chemical burden in general [31]. But specifically, the water quality change in relation to SVHC-focused emission reduction measures appeared to be more than proportional, driven by non-linear exposure-effect relationships (see also [32,33]).…”

Section: Exploring Future Optionsmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…The success of water quality protection and management regarding chemical pollution depends on the possibility to identify and implement optimal abatement techniques and management approaches [31,37]. The implementation of the solution-focused risk assessment paradigm into the practice of European water management is supported by a conceptual framework that guides the assessment process and provides a systematic overview of available abatement and management strategies.…”

Section: Further Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the ‘solution space’ is key: SOLUTIONS recommends an early-stage assessment of options to protect and restore water quality against chemical pollution

et al. 2019

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Present evaluations of chemical pollution in European surface and groundwater bodies focus on problem description and chemical classification of water quality. Surprisingly, relatively low attention has been paid to solutions of chemical pollution problems when those are encountered. Based on evaluations of current practices and available approaches, we suggest that water quality protection, monitoring, assessment and management of chemical pollution can be improved by implementing an early-stage exploration of the 'solution space'. This follows from the innovative paradigm of solution-focused risk assessment, which was developed to improve the utility of risk assessments. The 'solution space' is defined as the set of potential activities that can be considered to protect or restore the water quality against hazards posed by chemical pollution. When using the paradigm, upfront exploration of solution options and selecting options that would be feasible given the local pollution context would result in comparative risk assessment outcomes. The comparative outcomes are useful for selecting optimal measures against chemical pollution for management prioritization and planning. It is recommended to apply the solution-focused risk assessment paradigm to improve the chemical pollution information for river basin management planning. To operationalize this, the present paper describes a still-growing database and strategy to find and select technical abatement and/ or non-technical solution options for chemical pollution of surface waters. The solutions database and strategy can be applied to help prevent and reduce water quality problems. Various case studies show that implementing these can be effective, and how solution scenarios can be evaluated for their efficacy by comparative exposure and effect assessment.

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“…by incentivising or encouraging the production of sustainable, environmentally friendlier pharmaceuticals [39]. Research termed "green pharmacy" or "green toxicology" aims at developing novel production processes that follow a life-cycle approach and incorporate environmentally relevant properties, such as biodegradability, already when designing a new substance [15,38,40]. For instance, Rastogi et al [71] illustrate that it is also possible to redesign many existing pharmaceuticals and improve their environmental biodegradability through small molecular modifications.…”

Section: Theoretical Considerations On the Impact Of The Public Debatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transition towards sustainable pharmacy? The influence of public debates on policy responses to pharmaceutical contaminants in water

Schaub

Braunbeck

2020

Environ Sci Eur

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Background Despite clear-cut scientific evidence for pharmaceutical contaminants causing adverse effects in aquatic life, the regulatory response in Germany has been weak. In principle, there are different policy approaches to address pharmaceutical contaminants: German water protection policies mostly follows a control approach, complemented by end-of-pipe solutions in some German states. The approach leaves the activities of key target groups, such as the pharmaceutical industry, largely unaffected. A stakeholder consultation initiated in 2016 by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment did not lead to significant changes in regulation. Empirical research in political science has shown that analysing the public debate can be helpful in explaining policy responses and, in particular, policy change. This study follows this approach and investigates whether the German policy response to pharmaceutical contaminants can be explained by characteristics of the public debate on the issue. Results A discourse network analysis based on newspaper reporting in Germany was conducted between 2013 and 2017 to investigate the public debate on pharmaceutical contaminants. German newspapers actually paid considerable attention to the issue. In fact, the debate was not controversial, and participating organisations expressed similar views with regard to the risk of the contaminants, the causes of contamination and the approaches to be taken to mitigate the release of contaminants to the environment. The main narrative in the debate was supportive to the current policy approach applied in Germany. There were no concerted efforts by organisations such as environmental organisations or ecological parties to mobilise for an alternative policy approach. Conclusions The low level of polarisation in the policy subsystem and the absence of a strong narrative mobilising a major policy change may explain the persistence of the policy approach to pharmaceutical contaminants applied in Germany. A significant change to the current approach in the near future seems unlikely. Nevertheless, literature in political science shows that a polarised public debate and a strong pro-change actor coalition often preceded policy change. Actors with an interest in stricter regulation might want to reconsider their mobilisation strategies.

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Reducing aquatic micropollutants – Increasing the focus on input prevention and integrated emission management

Cited by 94 publications

References 140 publications

Novel metabolomic method to assess the effect-based removal efficiency of advanced wastewater treatment techniques

Novel metabolomic method to assess the effect-based removal efficiency of advanced wastewater treatment techniques

Exploring the ‘solution space’ is key: SOLUTIONS recommends an early-stage assessment of options to protect and restore water quality against chemical pollution

Transition towards sustainable pharmacy? The influence of public debates on policy responses to pharmaceutical contaminants in water

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