The DCU Water Institute in collaboration with Imperial College London have worked closing on a very interesting project on contaminants of emerging concern in Irish waters. For the first time, >140 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) including pharmaceuticals, pesticides and personal care products were monitored in monthly samples of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent, effluent and receiving surface waters at both an urban and a rural location in Ireland. Several contaminants were detected giving a total of 58 across all samples. These also included compounds from the European Union Water Framework Directive such as venlafaxine, one of the most prescribed antidepressants in the country. High wastewater treatment removal was observed and a further reduction in CEC occurrence and concentration was measured via dilution in the receiving river environment, where environmental risk assessments showed a low risk for the majority of the compounds. This collaboration between the DCU Water Institute and Imperial College London represents the most comprehensive study of CECs in Irish wastewater and receiving waters to date.
The publication can be found HERE
This publication addresses: SDG 6 Clean Water & Sanitation, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 14 Life Below Water
#waterquality #CECs #freshwater #Irish #pharmaceuticals #pesticides #watertreatment