Removal mechanisms, nature and relative toxicity of transformation products of pharmaceuticals in advanced wastewater treatment

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Hundreds of compounds including pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors have been identified in wastewaters in concentrations in the ug/L range while being detected in the ng/L range in surface waters. Traces of some of these compounds have also been detected in drinking water. Little information is available on the fate of these contaminants in the environment and in engineered systems but previous studies showed that conventional wastewater treatment approaches are not efficient at removing most of these compounds. Previous research conducted in my group showed that ozonation used as a tertiary treatment significantly enhance the removal of several of these compounds in municipal or industrial wastewaters. However, many questions remain: What is the nature of the transformation products? What are the most efficient oxidative approaches for the treatment of industrial wastewaters? What are the risks associated with the release of these transformation products in the environment? The long term objectives of the proposed research, supported by a state-of-the-art infrastructure obtained with the support of two grants awarded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (Leaders Opportunity and New Initiatives Funds) are: 1) To improve our knowledge of the factors affecting the biodegradability of pharmaceuticals in the environment, 2) To assessing the efficiency and impact of ozonation of municipal wastewater on the fate of pharmaceuticals as well as the residual toxicity of the treated water and 3) To study other oxidative treatment approaches for the treatment of wastewaters from the pharmaceuticals industry in order to prioritize actions, established sound regulations and develop strategies to protect the environment and public health. The methodology proposed will result in the training of graduate students; will strengthen collaboration developed with toxicologists as well as with the pharmaceutical industry and wastewater treatment plants in Quebec. A better understanding and control of the removal mechanisms of these compounds will mitigate the risks associated with their presence in the environment.