Table 3.
Emerging contaminants proposed as markers of untreated wastewater
| Emerging contaminant | Family/use | Reasoning | Evidence in the environment | Ref. | Literature wastewater data | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Untreated wastewater concentration (ng L−1) | Treatment removal (%) | Untreated wastewater EF | Treated wastewater EF | Ref. | |||||
| Caffeine | Stimulant |
High removal during wastewater treatment and low concentration variation High removal during wastewater treatment High removal during wastewater treatment High removal during wastewater treatment |
Elevated concentrations following CSO events | A | 1045–150,414 | > 95 | NA | NA | H |
| 3400–6600 | > 99 | NA | NA | I | |||||
| B | 7000–73,000 | 81 to > 99 | NA | NA | J | ||||
| Caffeine loads in stream correlated with rainfall | C | 42,400–43,800 | > 99 | NA | NA | K | |||
| 5250–9310 | > 99 | NA | NA | L | |||||
| D | 42,000 | 64 | NA | NA | E | ||||
|
Elevated concentration at site of untreated wastewater discharge Elevated concentrations following CSO events |
5094–1,214,375 | > 99 | NA | NA | M | ||||
| 74,813 | 92 | NA | NA | N | |||||
| 135,883–184,819 | - | NA | NA | O | |||||
| Theophylline | Bronchodilator | High removal during wastewater treatment | Elevated concentrations following CSO events | D | 1745–107,915 | > 93 | NA | NA | H |
| 146,500 | 95 | NA | NA | N | |||||
| 16,765–237,345 | 99 | NA | NA | M | |||||
| 75,413–137,196 | - | NA | NA | O | |||||
| Nicotine | Stimulant | High removal during wastewater treatment | No decrease in environmental concentration following CSO event. | E | 17,000 | 87 | NA | NA | E |
| 87–9086 | > 95 | NA | NA | H | |||||
| 50–89,600 | 65 to 99 | NA | NA | P | |||||
| 4874–11,866 | 99 | NA | NA | M | |||||
| 7750 | 98 | NA | NA | N | |||||
| 3340–8562 | - | NA | NA | O | |||||
| Cotinine | Stimulant metabolite | High removal during wastewater treatment | Elevated concentration at site of untreated wastewater discharge | C | 1972 | 82 | NA | NA | N |
| 1882–2437 | - | NA | NA | O | |||||
| 44–66 | > 69 | NA | NA | H | |||||
| 780–2880 | 91 to 99 | NA | NA | J | |||||
| 3333–4892 | > 99 | NA | NA | M | |||||
| Paracetamol | Analgesic |
High removal during wastewater treatment High removal during wastewater treatment High removal during wastewater treatment |
No decrease in concentration following CSO event. Elevated concentration at site of untreated wastewater discharge Elevated concentrations following CSO events |
E | 61,000 | 99 | NA | NA | E |
| 68,107–482,687 | ≥ 92 | NA | NA | Q | |||||
| C | 7100–11,400 | > 99 | NA | NA | R | ||||
| - | > 90 | NA | NA | S | |||||
| D | 136,887–343,620 | > 99 | NA | NA | M | ||||
| 138,164 | 99 | NA | NA | N | |||||
| Ibuprofen | NSAID | EF change during wastewater treatment. | Surface water EFs were in the range of sewage overflows. | F | - | - | 0.73 | 0.50 | F |
| 9055–15,780 | 95 | - | - | M | |||||
| 968–6328 | > 85 | - | - | Q | |||||
| 990–3300 | > 95 | 0.85–0.89 | 0.47–0.67 | T | |||||
| 1213–2058 | - | 0.79–0.86 | 0.63–0.68 | U | |||||
| - | 17 to 99 | 0.73–0.90 | 0.60–0.76 | V | |||||
| 12,907 | 90 | - | - | N | |||||
| Naproxen | NSAID | EF change during wastewater treatment due to chiral inversion. | Surface water EFs were in the range of sewage overflows. | F | - | - | > 0.96 | 0.65–0.92 | F |
| 2925–5455 | 47 | - | - | M | |||||
| 400–3504 | > 57 | - | - | Q | |||||
| 30–430 | - | > 0.99 | 0.88–0.91 | W | |||||
| 1067–3202 | - | 0.98–0.99 | 0.93–0.96 | U | |||||
| - | 24 to 89 | 0.88–0.90 | 0.71–0.86 | V | |||||
| 13,660 | 74 | - | - | N | |||||
| Cocaine | Stimulant | High removal during wastewater treatment and low concentration variation | Elevated environmental concentrations following CSO events. | A | 882–1575 | > 99 | NA | NA | A |
| 21–1837 | 25 to ≥ 99 | NA | NA | Q | |||||
| 5–209 | 37 to 91 | NA | NA | H | |||||
| 92–753 | 93 to > 99 | NA | NA | X | |||||
| 195–961 | 96 | NA | NA | Y | |||||
| 430 | 83 | NA | NA | N | |||||
| 397–694 | - | NA | NA | O | |||||
| Benzoylecgonine | Stimulant metabolite | High removal during wastewater treatment and low concentration variation | Elevated environmental concentrations following CSO events. | A | 1973–2544 | > 98 | NA | NA | A |
| 126–3715 | No removal to ≥ 99 | NA | NA | Q | |||||
| 16–567 | 27 to 81 | NA | NA | H | |||||
| 322–2258 | 93 to 99 | NA | NA | X | |||||
| 545–3790 | 88 | NA | NA | Y | |||||
| 1247 | 69 | NA | NA | N | |||||
| 754–1604 | - | NA | NA | O | |||||
| Amphetamine | Stimulant | High removal and change in EF during wastewater treatment. | Elevated concentration at site of untreated wastewater discharge with EF value (0.43) typical of untreated UK wastewater | C | 255–12,020 | ≥ 95 | - | - | Q |
| 64–368 | > 99 | 0.32–0.46 | - | Z | |||||
| 3–3113 | ≥ 89 | 0.16–0.44 | 0.00–0.29 | AA | |||||
| 291–412 | - | 0.41–0.43 | - | O | |||||
| 17–3113 | ≥ 89 | - | - | H | |||||
| 288 | 77 | - | - | N | |||||
| Propranolol | Beta-blocker | Change in EF during wastewater treatment | EF values in surface waters with untreated wastewater discharges were similar to EF values in untreated wastewater. | G | 13–250 | - | 0.49–0.54 | 0.30–0.44 | G |
| 54–100 | 28 | - | - | A | |||||
| 110–1962 | No removal to 35 | - | - | Q | |||||
| 108–1130 | 59 to 78 | - | - | R | |||||
| 122 | 5 | - | - | N | |||||
| 28–56 | No removal to 34 | 0.37–0.46 | 0.39–0.45 | AB | |||||
A, Munro et al. 2019; B, Buerge et al. 2003; C, Ramage et al. 2019; D, Poopipattana et al. 2021; E, Benotti and Brownawell 2007; F, Khan et al. 2014; G, Fono and Sedlak 2005; H, Baker and Kasprzyk-Hordern 2013; I, Sui et al. 2010; J, Buerge et al. 2006; K, Thomas and Foster 2005; L, Froehner et al. 2011; M, Archer et al. 2017; N, Petrie et al. 2016; O, Castrignanò et al. 2016; P, Ekpeghere et al. 2018; Q, Kasprzyk-Hordern et al. 2009; R, Radjenović et al. 2009; S, Matsuo et al. 2011; T, Buser et al. 1999; U, Caballo et al., 2015; V, Matamoros et al. 2009; W, Suzuki et al. 2014; X, van Nuijs et al. 2009; Y, Postigo et al. 2010; Z, Kasprzyk-Hordern et al. 2010; AA, Kasprzyk-Hordern and Baker 2012; AB, López-Serna et al. 2013
Key: NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory; EF, enantiomeric fraction; NA, not applicable; -, not measured; CSO, combined sewer overflow; SO, sewage overflow