Novel aspects for management of xenobiotic compounds in wastewater treatment plants - linking theory, field studies, regulation, engineering, and experience

Management aspects for control of environmental contaminants has widened from being focussed on heavy metals to a broader approach including specific organic compounds, inhibition of sensitive bacteria or algae, and newly identified environmental issues, e.g., endocrine disruption and antibiotic resistance. Studies conducted at the Avedore WWTP confirm the relevance of such newly discovered environmental problems, however, the order of magnitude of the effects do not seem alarming. It is recommended in future research to establish links between occurrence of specific organic compounds and heavy metals to various measures of toxicity and bioaccumulation. Also data for specific biodegradation rates in WWTPs represent a bottleneck for simulating fate of specific organic compounds in the plants.