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. 2024 Mar 26;58(12):5524-5533.
doi: 10.1021/acs.est.4c00840. Epub 2024 Mar 11.

Assessing Contributions of Synthetic Musk Compounds from Wastewater Treatment Plants to Atmospheric and Aquatic Environments

Wen-Long Li  1   2 , Chubashini Shunthirasingham  1 , Fiona Wong  1 , Shirley Anne Smyth  3 , Artur Pajda  1 , Nick Alexandrou  1 , Hayley Hung  1 , Chun-Yan Huo  1   2 , Tommy Bisbicos  4 , Mehran Alaee  4 , Grazina Pacepavicius  4 , Chris Marvin  4
Affiliations

Assessing Contributions of Synthetic Musk Compounds from Wastewater Treatment Plants to Atmospheric and Aquatic Environments

Wen-Long Li et al. Environ Sci Technol. .

Abstract

The high environmental concentrations, persistence, and toxicity of synthetic musk compounds (SMCs) necessitate a better grasp of their fate in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). To investigate the importance of WWTPs as pathways of SMCs to the environment, air and wastewater samples were collected at four WWTPs in Ontario, Canada. Polycyclic musks (PCMs) were present at higher concentrations than nitro musks (NMs) and macrocyclic musks (MCMs). Three PCMs [galaxolide (HHCB), tonalide (AHTN), and iso-E super (OTNE)] were the most abundant compounds (0.30-680 ng/m3 in air, 0.40-15 μg/L in influent, and 0.007-6.0 μg/L in effluent). Analyses of multiyear data suggest that risk management measures put in place have been effective in reducing the release of many SMCs into the environment. The highest removal efficiency, up to almost 100% of some SMCs, was observed for the plant with the longest solid retention time. A fugacity-based model was established to simulate the transport and fate of SMCs in the WWTP, and good agreement was obtained between the measured and modeled values. These findings indicate that the levels of certain SMCs discharged into the atmospheric and aquatic environments were substantial, potentially resulting in exposure to both humans and wildlife.

Keywords: chemical fate; emission; modeling; synthetic musk compounds; wastewater.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparisons of the concentrations (ng/m3) of NMs, MCMs, and PCMs in the on-site and off-site air of four WWTPs. Comparisons were performed for the (a) warm season and (b) cold season separately considering seasonal fluctuations in SMC concentrations.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparisons of the SMC concentrations between two distinct sampling periods (2013–14 and 2017) in on-site air. Comparisons were performed for (a) warm season and (b) cold season separately considering seasonal fluctuations in SMC concentrations. NS represents not significant; * represents difference being significant at the 0.05 level and ** represents difference being significant at the 0.01 level.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of measured and modeled effluent concentrations of SMCs.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Detailed transport flux (g/year) for HHCB in CAS 2 in the winter season. The numbers in the brackets represent the compartments included in the fugacity model. Note that %G means % of HHCB present in the gas phase, and %L liquid phases represent the % of HHCB present in the liquid phase.
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