Hazardous Substances in Waste Water
The Governmental Institute for Sewage and Waste Water Treatment has studied the presence of a number of hazardous substances, selected by the EEC-Commission, in sewage and industrial waste water. The influent, effluent and sludge of six municipal waste water treatment plants and the waste water of 59 industries were sampled and analysed. Volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons in sewage originate mainly from industrial discharges. Chlorophenols, γ-hexachlorocyclohexane, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) appear to be present at a low and constant background in municipal sewage and in many industrial waste waters. The removal in the municipal treatment plants amounts to:-volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons 50–90%-hexachlorobenzene 95%-hexachlorocyclohexanes 40–65%-chlorophenols 20–40%-PCB about 90%-PAH 85–95% This study has given a survey of emissions of these hazardous substances. The total emission of the examined substances in the Netherlands has remained out of the scope of this investigation.