engleski

Comprehensive Scheme for Non-target Screening of Wastewater and Its Application for the Effect- directed Analysis Municipal Sewage

The composition of municipal wastewaters is very complex, containing a large number of regulated and non-regulated contaminants. Despite the recent advancements in the field of chemical analysis, comprehensive chemical characterisation of municipal sewage remains a major challenge. Monitoring activities are often restricted to a comparatively small number of target contaminants and, as a consequence, the occurrence of potentially toxic substances other than priority pollutants is frequently overlooked and the potential hazard, posed to the environment and human health, widely underestimated. Effects- directed analysis (EDA), based on a simultaneous application of highly specific chemical analyses and bioassays, offers some clear advantages in the assessment toxic potential of wastewater. This work aims at presenting a comprehensive scheme for the identification of most critical contaminant classes in municipal wastewater, using EDA approach. A special emphasis was on the development of an efficient sample preparation protocol for a broad-spectrum chemical screening of non-target contaminants in wastewater extracts, involving both gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and accurate mass liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Moreover, a battery of small scale or in vitro bioassays, covering different modes of action, was applied to assess possible toxic effects. As an example, a case study in wastewater treatment plant of the city of Zagreb will be presented. The results clearly indicated a significant contribution of polar contaminants to most of the biological end-points and thus indicated the importance of further development of LC/MS-based techniques for the identification of most critical toxicants.

organic contaminants ; wastewater ; GC/MS ; LC/MS ; bioassays ; identification

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