Tentative Identification of Organic Compounds in the Influent and Effluent of the High Point Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant and Implications for Aquatic Toxicity
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- February 28, 2019
- Creator
-
Storm, Julia F.
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
- Abstract
- After identifying an acute toxicity problem, the North Carolina Division of Environmental Management required the High Point Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to institute periodic biomonitoring and reduce the toxicity. Here, Westside WWTP samples are analyzed using the chemical-specific approach to toxicity reduction in which potential toxicants are identified. WWTP samples determined as "toxic" or "nontoxic" by Daphnia pulex bioassay, effluents from six categories of industrial dischargers, and a domestic wastewater sample are analyzed for organic chemicals using continuous solvent extraction of wastewater samples and broad spectrum GC/MS analysis. An extensive database is developed which includes aquatic toxicity data and tentatively identified compounds in WWTP samples and industrial effluents ranked according to their potential for contribution to toxicity. The study suggests that many compounds found in Westside WWTP influent and effluent are of industrial origin since they occur inboth industrial samples and Westside WWTP samples. Treatment does not remove some organic compounds exhibiting significant toxicity to aquatic organisms and shown to be present in "toxic" effluents and industrial samples. Toxicity of Westside WWTP influent and effluent may be caused by a variety of industrial organic compounds in concentrations that alone would not be sufficient to produce a toxic effect but, because they may all produce toxicity by the same mechanism (narcosis) and thus may exhibit concentration addition, together produce a toxic effect. Recommendations for further analyses include confirmation of identifications using additional mass spectral techniques and determination of estimated or empirical aquatic toxicities.
- Date of publication
- January 1987
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Advisor
- DiGiano, Francis A.
- Christman, Russell
- Weiss, Charles M.
- Degree
- Master of Science in Public Health
- Academic concentration
- Aquatic and Atmospheric Sciences
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 1987
- Language
- Deposit record
- 4229e0fb-b010-4ede-aa50-9d4a2f0726fb
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