Status of hormones and painkillers in wastewater effluents across several European states—considerations for the EU watch list concerning estradiols and diclofenac

Abstract

Present technologies for wastewater treatment do not sufficiently address the increasing pollution situation of receiving water bodies, especially with the growing use of personal care products and pharmaceuticals (PPCP) in the private household and health sector. The relevance of addressing this problem of organic pollutants was taken into account by the Directive 2013/39/EU that introduced (i) the quality evaluation of aquatic compartments, (ii) the polluter pays principle, (iii) the need for innovative and affordable wastewater treatment technologies, and (iv) the identification of pollution causes including a list of principal compounds to be monitored. In addition, a watch list of 10 other substances was recently defined by Decision 2015/495 on March 20, 2015. This list contains, among several recalcitrant chemicals, the painkiller diclofenac and the hormones 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol. Although some modern approaches for their removal exist, such as advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), retrofitting most wastewater treatment plants with AOPs will not be acceptable as consistent investment at reasonable operational cost. Additionally, by-product and transformation product formation has to be considered. The same is true for membrane-based technologies (nanofiltration, reversed osmosis) despite of the incredible progress that has been made during recent years, because these systems lead to higher operation costs (mainly due to higher energy consumption) so that the majority of communities will not easily accept them. Advanced technologies in wastewater treatment like membrane bioreactors (MBR) that integrate biological degradation of organic matter with membrane filtration have proven a more complete elimination of emerging pollutants in a rather cost- and labor-intensive technology. Still, most of the presently applied methods are incapable of removing critical compounds completely. In this opinion paper, the state of the art of European WWTPs is reflected, and capacities of single methods are described. Furthermore, the need for analytical standards, risk assessment, and economic planning is stressed. The survey results in the conclusion that combinations of different conventional and advanced technologies including biological and plant-based strategies seem to be most promising to solve the burning problem of polluting our environment with hazardous emerging xenobiotics.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-016-6503-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Expression of a new laccase from Moniliophthora roreri at high levels in Pichia pastoris and its potential application in micropollutant degradation

“…Diclofenac and naproxen are NSAIDs which show analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects. Because of more and more emerging concerns about the fate of EDCs and NSAIDs much effort has been made to develop alternative strategies to remove those micropollutants since conventional wastewater treatment processes do not meet the demands (Schroder et al 2016). Among others laccases are capable of reducing estrogenic activity in wastewater (Suzuki et al 2003; Tsutsumi et al 2001).…”

“…High stability above pH 6 and resistance to many metal ions make this enzyme suitable for application in wastewater treatment. Amongst others, 17β-estradiol, 17α-ethinyl estradiol and diclofenac, which are listed by the European Union (EU) as dangerous compounds which should be monitored by the EU members (Schroder et al 2016) could be degraded by Mrl2.…”

Quantifying the UK Online Interest in Substances of the EU Watchlist for Water Monitoring: Diclofenac, Estradiol, and the Macrolide Antibiotics

“…Diclofenac's removal through conventional wastewater treatment varies from 0% to 80% [18], and, as it is not always absorbed onto organic matter [20], it is detected in the aquatic environment [18,19] and in the tap water in EU countries [20]. This also applies to the Macrolide Antibiotics, where concerns are being raised on their effect on environmental and human health due to them not being completely removed through conventional treatment [25].…”

Bacterial Isolation Which is Potential as Cellulosa Pedegradation in Coastal Performance In Tanjungpinang City

“…each isolate was tested on a series of media to see the biochemical activity of the bacteria. The biochemical activity of each type of bacteria is different because each bacterium has a different enzymatic activity [15]. Based on the identification results obtained by 3 genera namely Pseudomonas, Acetobacter and Acinobacter.…”

“…Acetobacter genus does not form endospores, aerobic life is obligate, does not do alcohol fermentation, oval-shaped to short stems. This bacterial metabolism produces the enzyme catalase [4] [15]. The genus Acinetobacter (isolate TU2-3) has the form of cocobacil and is a class of gram-negative bacteria.…”