The hazard assessment of pulp and paper effluents in the aquatic environment: A review

Abstract

Abstract-The hazard assessment of pulp and paper effluents in the aquatic environment is a complex task. Hundreds of individual compounds in pulping effluents and site-specific differences in processes, effluent treatment, and receiving ecosystems hinder hazard assessment. As a result, it is difficult to relate environmental effects with specific contaminants. Conventional parameters such as organic and nutrient loadings, solids deposition, and color complicate efforts to define chemical toxicants by causing environmental impacts at community and population levels. Reproduction is the most sensitive, consistent, and relevant end point tested to date in the laboratory, in mesocosms and experimental streams, and in field situations near some pulping discharges. Despite the application of a wide range of within-organism measurements, only the induction of mixed-function oxidase activities has been associated with exposure to particular effluent compounds in field situations. No complete mechanism of toxic action has been demonstrated that connects contaminant exposure, within-organism responses, whole-organism effects, and effects at the population and the community levels. Hazard assessments of pulping effluents require multidisciplinary efforts that integrate chemical, toxicological, and biological data at several organizational levels. Tiered or stepwise assessments are recommended that first clarify what adverse effects have occurred and then attempt to identify the responsible contaminants.

Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation: A Review of Pulp and Paper Industry Practices and Opportunities

“…Before considering different approaches used for the minimization or removal of contaminants from wastewater, the subsections below address some of the most common criteria for assessing the quality of treated water (McKeown and Gellman 1976;Owens 1991). Standard methods for the most widely used tests have been established in the US by the American Public Health Association (APHA 2001(APHA , 2005.…”

“…They are a matter of concern (Lugowski 1991;Owens 1991;Ali and Sreekrishnan 2001) not only because of their toxic effects on the environment (Mahmood-Khan et al 2013), but also they may disrupt the beneficial biological activities during wastewater treatment operations (Freire et al 2000;Liu et al 2011). Discharged effluents having toxic content can damage the reproductivity of aquatic species (Costigan et al 2012;Waye et al 2014).…”

“…The specific enzymes responsible for observed degradation of pollutants have been isolated or identified in some studies (Owens 1991;Duran et al 1994;Freitas et al 2009;Chandra and Singh 2012;Chen et al 2012;Souza et al 2014). It has been shown that direct addition of those enzymes to P&P mill effluent can facilitate the degradation of lignin species (Hakulinen 1988;Wagner and Nicell 2001;Fernandez-Fernandez et al 2013;Hossain and Ismail 2015;Kurnik et al 2015).…”

“…Issues related to toxicity have been the focus of much attention (Walden and Howard 1981;Owens 1991; Kamali and Khodaparst 2015). For the protection of the environment, and also to satisfy legal requirements, it is necessary for the industry to remove harmful materials from wastewater before it is discharged to the environment.…”

Distribution and sources of phytosterols in coastal and river sediments of south central Chile

“…Nevertheless, other inputs of vascular plant phytosterols into coastal waters may come from upland forests, mangroves, oil palm, or coconut plantations (Ali et al, 2009), waste waters (Quemeneur & Marty, 1994;Liu et al, 2010) and the pulp and paper mill industry (Owens, 1991;Sepúlveda et al, 2003;Orrego et al, 2005aOrrego et al, , 2009). Important research efforts has been undertaken to evaluate the impact of the discharge of pulp mill effluents on fish reproductive behavior (e.g., Walker et al, 2002;Dubé et al, 2008), because it has been shown that fishes exposed to wood-derived sterols present endocrine disruption (Mellanen et al, 1996;MacLatchy et al, 1997;Nakari & Erkomaa, 2003).…”