Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering , Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania 15213 , United States.
Department of Engineering and Public Policy , Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania 15213 , United States.
Environ Sci Technol. 2019 Jan 2;53(1):213-223. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b03036. Epub 2018 Dec 19.
Wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater discharges from coal-fired power plants may increase bromide concentrations at downstream drinking water intakes, leading to increased formation of toxic disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Despite this, bromide was not regulated in FGD wastewater in the 2015 Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category (ELGs). Case-by-case management was recommended instead, depending on downstream drinking water effects. The present work seeks to identify U.S. regions where power plant discharges could affect drinking water. Bromide loads were evaluated for all coal-fired power plants operating wet FGD, and flow paths were used to identify downstream surface water sources. A population-concentration metric was used to evaluate the effect of wet FGD on downstream drinking water and the vulnerability of drinking water to upstream discharges. On a hydrologic region level, results indicate the Ohio, South Atlantic Gulf, and Missouri Regions are the most likely to see effects of power plant bromide discharges on populations served by surface water. Increased refined coal use, which may be treated with bromide, contributes to uncertainty in potential bromide effects on drinking water. Measurement of bromide concentrations in wet FGD discharges would reduce this uncertainty, and control of bromide discharges may be needed in some watersheds.
燃煤电厂湿法烟气脱硫（FGD）废水排放可能会增加下游饮用水进水口的溴化物浓度，导致有毒消毒副产物（DBP）形成增加。尽管如此，在 2015 年的《火力发电行业排污许可证申请与核发技术规范》（ELGs）中，FGD 废水中的溴化物并未受到监管。相反，建议根据下游饮用水的影响进行逐案管理。本研究旨在确定美国可能影响饮用水的电厂排放区域。评估了所有运行湿法 FGD 的燃煤电厂的溴化物负荷，并使用流径来确定下游地表水水源。使用人口-浓度指标来评估湿法 FGD 对下游饮用水的影响以及饮用水对上游排放的脆弱性。在水文区域层面上，结果表明，俄亥俄州、南大西洋海湾州和密苏里州最有可能看到电厂溴化物排放对地表水供应人口的影响。可能用溴化物处理的精炼煤使用量的增加增加了对饮用水中潜在溴化物影响的不确定性。测量湿法 FGD 排放中的溴化物浓度可以降低这种不确定性，并且可能需要在某些流域控制溴化物排放。
