“Installing a fourth treatment stage in wastewater treatment plants offers the best chance of reducing persistent chemical micropollutants found in bodies of water, the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) says.
The proposal is part of a set of new agency measures to ‘drastically cut’ micropollutants – very low concentrations of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and biocides – that are increasingly being detected in groundwater, lakes and oceans. These include perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), used in fire-extinguishing foams and electroplating processes.
Efforts to curb them must focus on wastewater treatment, the UBA says, since many other proposed measures require long lead times.
The conventional treatment process has three stages. A fourth stage, which involves the use of activated carbon filters or enzymes to absorb the micropollutants, is being tested in Germany. But due to their high cost the techniques are not applied on a regular basis…
It adds that better communication is needed between stakeholders to ensure effective protection from pollution.
Earlier this month, the agency said persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) and very persistent, very mobile (vPvM) classifications are required to properly address the risks to water sources, particularly those used to supply drinking water.”
Read the full article from Chemical Watch