The aquatic environment is continually exposed to a complex mixture of chemicals, with effluents of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as one key source. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether environmental risk assessments addressing individual substances are sufficiently protective for such mixtures. Based on a literature review of chemicals reported to occur […]
A mixture of treated wastewater and surface water was used to rewet a degraded fen peatland site during a three-year rewetting experiment. Behaviour and effects of micropollutants were studied using hydrological, physico-chemical, microbiological and ecotoxicological monitoring. The highest concentrations of micropollutants in the treated wastewater were found for the pharmaceuticals carbamazepine and diclofenac, some metabolites, […]
Enchytraeids (Oligochaeta, Annelida) are regularly found in agroecosystems of the temperate regions of the world. Although less known than their larger relatives, the earthworms, these saprophagous organisms play similar roles in agricultural soils influencing soil structure and organic matter dynamics and having a central place in soil food webs. Due to difficulties in distinguishing the […]
Advanced wastewater treatment processes are known to be an effective tool for reducing micropollutant discharge into the aquatic environment. Nevertheless, some processes such as ozonation result in stable transformation products with often unknown toxicity. In the present study, effluents from different steps of advanced treatment were compared for their aquatic toxicity. Lumbriculus variegatus, Daphnia magna […]
In cooperation with several partners, a multidisciplinary concept was developed for assessing the efficacy of advanced wastewater treatment methods for removal of micropollutants. This concept integrates (1) chemical parameters (the removal of selected indicator substances and the formation of transformation products), (2) ecotoxicological parameters (the assessment of ecotoxicity using in vitro tests), and (3) microbiological […]
The aim of this project is to develop and evaluate concepts for a risk assessment of wastewater effluents taking into account the joint effects of chemicals, which are not completely eliminated in the wastewater treatment process. The focus is on pharmaceutical residues and industrial chemicals, particularly those that are frequently detected in effluents. The predictability […]
T. Junker