Harth Felix U R, Arras Carolin, Brettschneider Denise J, Misovic Andrea, Oehlmann Jörg, Schulte-Oehlmann Ulrike, Oetken Matthias
a Department Aquatic Ecotoxicology , Goethe University Frankfurt am Main , Germany.
J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng. 2018;53(13):1149-1160. doi: 10.1080/10934529.2018.1530328. Epub 2019 Jan 9.
Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) discharge micropollutants like pharmaceuticals, pesticides, personal care products or endocrine disrupting chemicals but also nutrients. Both can adversely influence the freshwater ecosystem and may finally affect the ecological conditions. Many studies focus on the potential impact of large WWTPs even if smaller ones are more common, often less efficient and discharge into small creeks or the upper reaches of rivers. As a result, the receiving waters are characterized by relatively high shares of treated wastewater. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the ecotoxicological effects of a small WWTP on freshwater amphipods and mollusks in a small creek using an active and passive monitoring approach, accompanied by laboratory experiments (LE). In vitro assays with recombinant yeasts and the microtox assay with Aliivibrio fischeri were performed in parallel to determine the endocrine potential and the baseline toxicity. The evaluation of the effects of the analysed WWTP was possible due to its shutdown during our study and the application of the same in vivo and in vitro assays before and after the shutdown. During the operation of the WWTP the discharge of treated wastewater caused significantly higher mortalities and lower reproduction of the anaylsed invertebrates in the active and passive montoring as well as in the LEs. Furthermore, the amphipod species assemblage in the creek was affected downstream of the WWTP effluent. Besides, the endocrine activity and baseline toxicity were significantly higher downstream of the effluent. After the shutdown of the WWTP, the in vitro activity levels and adverse in vivo effects in the receiving water recovered quickly with no significant differences downstream of the former WWTP effluent compared to the upstream station. Furthermore, the previously disturbed amphipod species assemblage recovered significantly with a shift in favor of Gammarus fossarum downstream of the effluent. These biological results are consistent with a marked decline by 81.5% for the detected micropollutants in the receiving creek after the shutdown which points to a prominent role of micropollutants for the observed effects.
城市污水处理厂（WWTPs）排放出诸如药物、农药、个人护理产品或内分泌干扰化学物质等微污染物，同时也排放营养物质。这两者都会对淡水生态系统产生不利影响，并最终可能影响生态状况。许多研究关注大型污水处理厂的潜在影响，即便小型污水处理厂更为常见，效率往往较低且排放到小河流或河流上游。结果，受纳水体的特点是经处理的废水所占比例相对较高。因此，本研究的主要目的是采用主动和被动监测方法，并辅以实验室实验（LE），调查小型污水处理厂对一条小河流中淡水双壳类动物和软体动物的生态毒理学影响。同时进行了重组酵母体外试验和费氏弧菌微毒性试验，以确定内分泌潜能和基线毒性。由于在我们的研究期间该污水处理厂关闭，并且在关闭前后应用了相同的体内和体外试验，因此能够对所分析的污水处理厂的影响进行评估。在污水处理厂运行期间，经处理废水的排放导致在主动和被动监测以及实验室实验中所分析的无脊椎动物死亡率显著升高且繁殖率降低。此外，污水处理厂废水排放下游的小河中的双壳类动物物种组合受到了影响。此外，废水排放下游的内分泌活性和基线毒性显著更高。污水处理厂关闭后，受纳水体中的体外活性水平和体内不利影响迅速恢复，与上游站点相比，原污水处理厂废水排放下游没有显著差异。此外，先前受到干扰的双壳类动物物种组合显著恢复，废水排放下游有利于河蚬的转变。这些生物学结果与关闭后受纳小河中检测到的微污染物显著下降81.5%相一致，这表明微污染物对所观察到的影响起到了突出作用。
