Assessing emerging wastewater regulations to minimize the risk from pharmaceuticals and personal care products: A case study in Wisconsin, USA
Abstract
Purpose
Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) and phosphorus are pollutants that can cause a wide array of negative environmental impacts. Phosphorus is a regulated pollutant in many industrial countries, while PPCPs are widely unregulated. Many technologies designed to remove phosphorus from wastewater can remove PPCPs, therefore the purpose of this paper is to explore the ability of these technologies to also reduce the emission of unregulated PPCPs.
Design/methodology/approach
Through meta-analysis, the authors use the PPCPs’ risk quotient (RQ) to measure and compare the effectiveness of different wastewater treatment technologies. The RQ data are then applied via a case study that uses phosphorus effluent regulations to determine the ability of the recommended technologies to also mitigate PPCPs.
Findings
The tertiary membrane bioreactor and nanofiltration processes recommended to remove phosphorus can reduce the median RQ from PPCPs by 71 and 81 percent, respectively. The ultrafiltration technology was estimated to reduce the median RQ from PPCPs by 28 percent with no cost in addition to the costs expected under the current phosphorus effluent regulations. RQ reduction is expected with a membrane bioreactor and the cost of upgrading to this technology was found to be $11.76 per capita/year.
Practical implications
The authors discuss the management implications, including watershed management, alternative PPCPs reduction strategies, and water quality trading.
Originality/value
The evaluation of the co-management of priority and emerging pollutants illuminates how the removal of regulated pollutants from wastewater could significantly reduce the emission of unregulated PPCPs.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding for this work was provided through a Distinguished Graduate Student Fellowship awards by the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee to B. Blair.
Citation
Blair, B., Kehl, J. and Klaper, R. (2015), "Assessing emerging wastewater regulations to minimize the risk from pharmaceuticals and personal care products: A case study in Wisconsin, USA", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 26 No. 6, pp. 966-983. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-12-2014-0171
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited