Organic chemicals in sewage sludges.

Sewage sludges are residues resulting from the treatment of wastewater released from various sources including homes, industries, medical facilities, street runoff and businesses. Sewage sludges contain nutrients and organic matter that can provide soil benefits and are widely used as soil amendments. They also, however, contain contaminants including metals, pathogens, and organic pollutants. Although current regulations require pathogen reduction and periodic monitoring for some metals prior to land application, there is no requirement to test sewage sludges for the presence of organic chemicals in the U. S. To help fill the gaps in knowledge regarding the presence and concentration of organic chemicals in sewage sludges, the peer-reviewed literature and official governmental reports were examined. Data were found for 516 organic compounds which were grouped into 15 classes. Concentrations were compared to EPA risk-based soil screening limits (SSLs) where available. For 6 of the 15 classes of chemicals identified, there were no SSLs. For the 79 reported chemicals which had SSLs, the maximum reported concentration of 86% exceeded at least one SSL. Eighty-three percent of the 516 chemicals were not on the EPA established list of priority pollutants and 80% were not on the EPA's list of target compounds. Thus analyses targeting these lists will detect only a small fraction of the organic chemicals in sludges. Analysis of the reported data shows that more data has been collected for certain chemical classes such as pesticides, PAHs and PCBs than for others that may pose greater risk such as nitrosamines. The concentration in soil resulting from land application of sludge will be a function of initial concentration in the sludge and soil, the rate of application, management practices and losses. Even for chemicals that degrade readily, if present in high concentrations and applied repeatedly, the soil concentrations may be significantly elevated. The results of this work reinforce the need for a survey of organic chemical contaminants in sewage sludges and for further assessment of the risks they pose.

[1]  Daniel Prats,et al.  LAS homolog distribution shift during wastewater treatment and composting: Ecological implications , 1993 .

[2]  R. Law,et al.  Levels of short and medium chain length polychlorinated n-alkanes in environmental samples from selected industrial areas in England and Wales. , 2001, Environmental pollution.

[3]  D. Barceló,et al.  Quantitative analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants. , 2001, Journal of chromatography. A.

[4]  H. Jobst Chlorphenole und Nonylphenole in Klärschlämmen. Teil II: Hat die Belastung mit Pentachlorphenol und Nonylphenolen abgenommen? , 1998 .

[5]  Adriano Joss,et al.  Scrutinizing pharmaceuticals and personal care products in wastewater treatment. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[6]  J. Lester,et al.  Removal of Organotins during Sewage Treatment: A Case Study , 2004, Environmental technology.

[7]  J. Ongerth,et al.  Estimation of pharmaceutical residues in primary and secondary sewage sludge based on quantities of use and fugacity modelling. , 2002, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[8]  S. R. Wild,et al.  Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in crops from long-term field experiments amended with sewage sludge. , 1992, Environmental pollution.

[9]  G. Batley,et al.  Polyorganosiloxanes (silicones) in the aquatic environment of the Sydney region , 1991 .

[10]  J. Lester,et al.  The Behaviour of Chlorinated Organics during Activated Sludge Treatment and Anaerobic Digestion , 1988 .

[11]  F. B. Dewalle,et al.  Presence of Phenolic Compounds in Sewage, Effluent and Sludge from Municipal Sewage Treatment Plants , 1982 .

[12]  J. Hall,et al.  A risk-based methodology for deriving quality standards for organic contaminants in sewage sludge for use in agriculture--Conceptual Framework. , 2004, Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology : RTP.

[13]  D. Bennie Review of the environmental occurrence of alkylphenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates , 1999 .

[14]  E. Harrison Comments on "Standards for the Use of Disposal of Sewage Sludge: Agency Response to the National Research Council Report on Biosolids Applied to Land and the Results of EPA's Review of Existing Sewage Sludge Regulations" , 2003 .

[15]  Y. Yasuda,et al.  Determination of trace amounts of siloxanes in water, sediments and fish tissues by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry. , 1984, The Science of the total environment.

[16]  Z. Ujang,et al.  Development of extraction procedures for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides in municipal sewage sludge. , 2004, Water Science and Technology.

[17]  I. J. Kugelman,et al.  Fate of toxic organic compounds in wastewater treatment plants , 1983 .

[18]  H. Rogers,et al.  The occurrence of chlorobenzenes and permethrins in twelve U.K. sewage sludges , 1989 .

[19]  K. Fent Organotin compounds in municipal wastewater and sewage sludge: contamination, fate in treatment process and ecotoxicological consequences , 1996 .

[20]  Armin Hauk,et al.  Measurement of triclosan in wastewater treatment systems , 2002, Environmental toxicology and chemistry.

[21]  D. Bright,et al.  Contaminant risks from biosolids land application: contemporary organic contaminant levels in digested sewage sludge from five treatment plants in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia. , 2003, Environmental pollution.

[22]  P. Oleszczuk,et al.  The Concentration of Mild-Extracted Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sewage Sludges , 2004, Journal of environmental science and health. Part A, Toxic/hazardous substances & environmental engineering.

[23]  K. Bester Triclosan in a sewage treatment process--balances and monitoring data. , 2003, Water research.

[24]  William A. Telliard,et al.  PRIORITY POLLUTANTS I-A PERSPECTIVES VIEW , 1979 .

[25]  Robert C Hale,et al.  Potential role of fire retardant-treated polyurethane foam as a source of brominated diphenyl ethers to the US environment. , 2002, Chemosphere.

[26]  J D Berset,et al.  Determination of phthalates in crude extracts of sewage sludges by high-resolution capillary gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. , 2001, Journal of AOAC International.

[27]  T. Hellström Brominated Flame Retardants (PBDE and PBB) in Sludge - a Problem? , 2000 .

[28]  D. Barceló,et al.  Determination of anionic and nonionic surfactants, their degradation products, and endocrine-disrupting compounds in sewage sludge by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. , 2000, Analytical chemistry.

[29]  J. A. Ryan,et al.  Organic contaminants in municipal biosolids: risk assessment, quantitative pathways analysis, and current research priorities , 1996 .

[30]  J. Caixach,et al.  A comparison of TEQ contributions from PCDDs, PCDFs and dioxin-like PCBs in sewage sludges from Catalonia, Spain. , 2003, Chemosphere.

[31]  U. Bolz,et al.  Phenolic xenoestrogens in surface water, sediments, and sewage sludge from Baden-Württemberg, south-west Germany. , 2001, Environmental pollution.

[32]  R. Hale,et al.  Organic Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Land-Applied Sewage Sludge (Biosolids) , 2004 .

[33]  Mats Tysklind,et al.  Screening of human antibiotic substances and determination of weekly mass flows in five sewage treatment plants in Sweden. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[34]  R. Furrer,et al.  Concentrations and specific loads of polycyclic musks in sewage sludge originating from a monitoring network in Switzerland. , 2004, Chemosphere.

[35]  Hing-Biu Lee,et al.  Determination of 4-Nonylphenol in Effluent and Sludge from Sewage Treatment Plants , 1995 .

[36]  R. Holzer,et al.  Quantitative determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in sewage sludges using supercritical fluid extraction and mass spectrometric detection. , 1999, Journal of chromatography. A.

[37]  G A O'Connor,et al.  Organic compounds in sludge-amended soils and their potential for uptake by crop plants. , 1996, The Science of the total environment.

[38]  T. Braunbeck,et al.  Changes in toxicity and genotoxicity of industrial sewage sludge samples containing nitro- and amino-aromatic compounds following treatment in bioreactors with different oxygen regimes , 2004, Environmental science and pollution research international.

[39]  J. Lester,et al.  Analytical Methods For the Determination Of Alkylphenolic Surfactants And Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers In Wastewaters and Sewage Sludges. I a Review Of Methodologies , 2004, Environmental technology.

[40]  R A Ford,et al.  Environmental risk assessment for the polycyclic musks AHTN and HHCB in the EU. I. Fate and exposure assessment. , 1999, Toxicology letters.

[41]  H R Rogers,et al.  Sources, behaviour and fate of organic contaminants during sewage treatment and in sewage sludges. , 1996, The Science of the total environment.

[42]  K. Fent Organotin speciation in municipal wastewater and sewage sludge: Ecotoxicological consequences , 1989 .

[43]  K. Bester,et al.  Retention characteristics and balance assessment for two polycyclic musk fragrances (HHCB and AHTN) in a typical German sewage treatment plant. , 2004, Chemosphere.

[44]  Bent Halling-Sørensen,et al.  Fate of estrogens in a municipal sewage treatment plant. , 2003, Environmental science & technology.

[45]  J. L. Stevens,et al.  Quantification of PCDD/F concentrations in animal manure and comparison of the effects of the application of cattle manure and sewage sludge to agricultural land on human exposure to PCDD/Fs. , 2003, Chemosphere.

[46]  W. Balzer,et al.  Secondary formation of PCDD/F during the thermal stabilization of sewage sludge. , 1994, Chemosphere.

[47]  Tetsu Nakamura,et al.  Distribution of organosiloxanes (silicones) in water, sediments and fish from the Nagara River watershed, Japan , 1984 .

[48]  S. R. Wild,et al.  Chlorophenols in digested U.K. sewage sludges , 1993 .

[49]  D. C. Raupach,et al.  National survey of elements and other constituents in municipal sewage sludges , 1984 .

[50]  L. Carlsen,et al.  Phthalates and nonylphenols in profiles of differently dressed soils. , 2002, The Science of the total environment.

[51]  M. L. La Guardia,et al.  Alkylphenol ethoxylate degradation products in land-applied sewage sludge (biosolids). , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[52]  B. Janoszka,et al.  Comparison of Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds and Heavy Metals Contents in Sewage Sludges from Industrialized and Non-Industrialized Region , 1999 .

[53]  H. Kirchmann,et al.  Organic pollutants in sewage sludge, 2: Analysis of barley grains grown on sludge-fertilized soil , 1991 .

[54]  K. Jones,et al.  Chlorobenzenes in field soil with a history of multiple sewage sludge applications. , 1995, Environmental science & technology.

[55]  L. Valtorta,et al.  Surfactants in sludge-amended soil , 1999 .

[56]  N. Litz Some investigations into the behavior of pentabromodiphenyl ether (PeBDE) in soils , 2002 .

[57]  Daniel Zitomer,et al.  Sequential environments for enhanced biotransformation of aqueous contaminants , 1993 .

[58]  C. Samara,et al.  Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the sewage treatment plant of Thessaloniki, northern Greece: occurrence and removal. , 2004, Water research.

[59]  Hing-Biu Lee,et al.  Bisphenol A Contamination in Canadian Municipal and Industrial Wastewater and Sludge Samples , 2000 .

[60]  S. Zhang,et al.  Occurrence of butyltin species in sewage and sludge in Canada. , 1992, The Science of the total environment.

[61]  M. Ettala,et al.  Removal of chlorophenols in a municipal sewage treatment plant using activated sludge , 1992 .

[62]  L. Carlsen,et al.  Linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) in the terrestrial environment. , 2002, The Science of the total environment.

[63]  M. Kujawa,et al.  Organic contaminants in sewage sludge and their ecotoxicological significance in the agricultural utilization of sewage sludge , 1997 .

[64]  J D Berset,et al.  Nitro musks, nitro musk amino metabolites and polycyclic musks in sewage sludges. Quantitative determination by HRGC-ion-trap-MS/MS and mass spectral characterization of the amino metabolites. , 2000, Chemosphere.

[65]  K. Fent,et al.  Occurrence of organotins in municipal wastewater and sewage sludge and behavior in a treatment plant , 1991 .

[66]  Bradford B. Price,et al.  Environmental Occurrence of Polydimethylsiloxane , 1997 .

[67]  Thomas A Temes,et al.  Determination of estrogens in sludge and sediments by liquid extraction and GC/MS/MS. , 2002, Analytical chemistry.

[68]  S. R. Wild,et al.  The influence of sewage sludge applications to agricultural land on human exposure to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and -furans (PCDFs). , 1994, Environmental pollution.

[69]  K. Xia,et al.  Occurrence and Degradation of Estrogenic Nonylphenol and its Precursors in Northeast Kansas Wastewater Treatment Plants , 2003 .

[70]  M. L. La Guardia,et al.  Flame retardants: Persistent pollutants in land-applied sludges , 2001, Nature.

[71]  J. Lester,et al.  Occurrence and distribution of persistent organochlorine compounds in U.K. sewage sludges , 1984 .

[72]  B. Jansson,et al.  Analysis of tetrabromobisphenol A in a product and environmental samples , 1995 .

[73]  Thomas E. Peart,et al.  Organic Contaminants in Canadian Municipal Sewage Sludge. Part I. Toxic or Endocrine-Disrupting Phenolic Compounds , 2002 .

[74]  S. R. Wild,et al.  Organic chemicals entering agricultural soils in sewage sludges: screening for their potential to transfer to crop plants and livestock. , 1992, The Science of the total environment.

[75]  M. Blanchard,et al.  Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorobiphenyls in wastewaters and sewage sludges from the Paris area (France). , 2004, Environmental research.

[76]  G. Karlaganis,et al.  Organic micropollutants in Swiss sewage sludge. , 1993, Journal of chromatography.

[77]  Kevin C Jones,et al.  PAHs, PCBs, PCNs, organochlorine pesticides, synthetic musks, and polychlorinated n-alkanes in U.K. sewage sludge: survey results and implications. , 2003, Environmental science & technology.

[78]  A. Marcomini,et al.  Behavior of aromatic surfactants and PCBs in sludge-treated soil and landfills , 1989 .

[79]  G. Fries,et al.  Ingestion of sludge applied organic chemicals by animals. , 1996, The Science of the total environment.

[80]  K. Fent,et al.  Fate of tributyltin in sewage sludge treatment , 1991 .

[81]  Laurel J. Standley,et al.  Dissipation of fragrance materials in sludge-amended soils. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[82]  S. Rubio,et al.  Determination of non-ionic polyethoxylated surfactants in sewage sludge by coacervative extraction and ion trap liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. , 2004, Journal of chromatography. A.

[83]  P. Capel,et al.  Residues of detergent-derived organic pollutants and polychlorinated biphenyls in sludge-amended soil , 1988, Naturwissenschaften.

[84]  Tom C. J. Feijtel,et al.  AIS/CESIO environmental surfactant monitoring programme. Part 1: LAS monitoring study in ``de Meern'' sewage treatment plant and receiving river ``Leidsche Rijn'' , 1995 .

[85]  C. Metcalfe,et al.  Distribution of alkylphenol compounds in great lakes sediments, United States and Canada , 1998 .

[86]  J. Lester,et al.  Polychlorinated biphenyl and organochlorine insecticide concentrations in forty sewage sludges in England , 1982 .

[87]  S. Hawthorne,et al.  Quantitative determination of sulfonated aliphatic and aromatic surfactants in sewage sludge by ion-pair/supercritical fluid extraction and derivatization gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. , 1992, Analytical chemistry.

[88]  Scott W. Pryor,et al.  Nonylphenol in anaerobically digested sewage sludge from New York State. , 2002, Environmental science & technology.

[89]  R. Clement,et al.  Chlorinated dioxins/furans in sewage and sludge of municipal water pollution control plants , 1990 .

[90]  Karin D North,et al.  Tracking polybrominated diphenyl ether releases in a wastewater treatment plant effluent, Palo Alto, California. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[91]  R. Zartman Biosolids Applied to Land , 2004 .

[92]  K. Jones,et al.  Persistence of Organic Contaminants in Sewage Sludge‐Amended Soil: A Field Experiment , 1997 .

[93]  M. Blanchard,et al.  Origin and distribution of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorobiphenyls in urban effluents to wastewater treatment plants of the Paris area (France). , 2001, Water research.

[94]  B. Pavoni,et al.  Correlation between inorganic (heavy metals) and organic (PCBs and PAHs) micropollutant concentrations during sewage sludge composting processes. , 2000, Chemosphere.

[95]  R. Holzer,et al.  Determination of coplanar and ortho substituted PCBs in some sewage sludges of Switzerland using HRGC/ECD and HRGC/MSD , 1996 .

[96]  Steven Morris,et al.  Distribution and fate of HBCD and TBBPA brominated flame retardants in North Sea estuaries and aquatic food webs. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[97]  P. Arlien‐Søborg,et al.  Science of the Total Environment , 2018 .

[98]  S. R. Wild,et al.  The effect of sludge treatment on the organic contaminant content of sewage sludges , 1989 .

[99]  W. Giger,et al.  Determination of fluoroquinolone antibacterial agents in sewage sludge and sludge-treated soil using accelerated solvent extraction followed by solid-phase extraction. , 2002, Analytical chemistry.

[100]  S. R. Wild,et al.  Long-Term Persistence of Organic Chemicals in Sewage Sludge-Amended Agricultural Land: A Soil Quality Perspective , 1995 .

[101]  R. Létolle,et al.  Polychlorinated biphenyls partitioning in waters from river, filtration plant and wastewater plant: the case for paris (france) , 1990 .

[102]  P. Bigler,et al.  Analysis of nitro musk compounds and their amino metabolites in liquid sewage sludges using NMR and mass spectrometry. , 2000, Analytical chemistry.

[103]  W. Giger,et al.  Behavior of fluorescent whitening agents during sewage treatment , 1998 .