New knowledge report about drug residues in sewage treatment plants
IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, together with its partners, KTH, Stockholm Water and Syvab has published a knowledge report that reveals how wastewater can be purified from drug residues.
The report will serve as information material for wastewater treatment plants, state authorities and other stakeholders. Today many drug residues pass through sewage treatment plants and end up in the environment, sometimes at harmful levels. The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive knowledge base and recommendations on priority substances, treatment techniques and to highlight knowledge gaps and development needs. The report’s primary objective has been to summarize knowledge about the quality of water in the outflow from sewage treatment plants and the report addresses both relevant legislation and the methods used for quality assessment. – The report is intended to serve as guidelines for treatment plants wishing to use complementary purification technologies and will help them choose the solution best suited to local conditions and future goals. It includes a comparison of techniques both in terms of overall environmental impact and cost but also elucidates the developmental possibilities of adapting to future technologies, said Christian Baresel, project manager at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute. The project is supported by the Marine and Water Authority and is financed via the Measures for the Marine and Aquatic Environment appropriation, which is part of the government's four-year programme for a better and more advanced treatment of wastewater. In connection with the first phase of the project, which is now ending, a half-day seminar on water treatment technology with focus on pharmaceutical residues and other priority persistent substances will be held on May 28. For more information, please contact: Christian Baresel Email: christian.baresel@ivl.se