Priority pollutants USEPA

T. M. Keinath, Technology Evaluation for Priority Pollutant Removalfrom Dyestuff Manufacture Wastewaters, USEPA report 600/S2-84-055, Washington, D.C., Apr. 1984. 

Tabak, et al., Biodegradability Studies with Organic Priority Pollutant Compounds," USEPA, MERL, Cincinnati, Ohio, April 1980. 

Haile, C. L. Lopez-Avila, V. "Development of Analytical Test Procedures for the Measurement of Organic Priority Pollutants in Sludge," EPA-600/S4-84-001, USEPA, March 1984. 

Common hazardous wastes include (a) waste oil, (b) solvents and thinners, (c) acids and bases/alkalines, (d) toxic or flammable paint wastes, (e) nitrates, perchlorates, and peroxides, (f) abandoned or used pesticides, and (g) some wastewater treatment sludges. Special hazardous wastes include (a) industrial wastes containing the USEPA priority pollutants, (b) infectious medical wastes, (c) explosive military wastes, and (d) radioactive wastes or releases. 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), CFCs, petroleum products, and dioxin are major toxic contaminants in air (Section 3.3.2), soil (Section 3.5.3), and also in water. The readers are referred to Sections 3.3.2 and 3.5.3 for details about PCB characteristics, health effects, treatment technologies, and so on. For water quality management, they have been included in the list of the USEPA priority pollutants [86]. 

In addition to gasoline, CFC, and so on, various other organic and inorganic compounds such as heavy metals, sulfides, and cyanides on the USEPA Priority Pollutants List, and subject to various water quality criteria, guidelines, etc., when released can also contaminate the soil. The contaminated soil then becomes a hazardous solid waste which must be properly disposed of [63-86]. 

The same modern incinerators equipped with scmbbers, bag-filters, electro-precipitators, secondary combustion chambers, stacks, etc., are equally efficient for disposal of hazardous PCBs, dioxin, USEPA priority pollutants, and so on, if they are properly designed, installed, and managed. Incineration technology is definitely feasible, and should not be overlooked. The only residues left in the incinerators are small amount of ashes containing metals. The metal-containing ashes may be solidified and then disposed of on a landfill site. 

In addition to the conventional pollutant constituents, USEPA made a survey of the presence of the 126 toxic pollutants listed as priority pollutants in refinery operations in 1977 [5]. The survey responses indicated that 71 toxic pollutants were purchased as raw or intermediate materials 19 of these were purchased by single refineries. At least 10% of aU refineries purchase the following toxic pollutants benzene, carbon tetrachloride, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, phenol, toluene, zinc and its compounds, chromium and its compounds, copper and its compounds, and lead and its compounds. Zinc and chromium are purchased by 28% of all refineries, and lead is purchased by nearly 48% of all plants. 

Because of the variety and uniqueness of pesticide manufacmring processes and operations, the flow and characteristics of wastewater generated from production plants vary broadly. In 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1984, the USEPA conducted surveys to obtain basic data concerning manufacturing, disposal, and treatment as well as to identify potential sources of priority pollutants in pesticide manufacmrers [7]. The results of these surveys and USEPA s interpretations and evaluations are summarized in the following. 

Clenbuterol in pork, beef, and hog liver Co(II) ion as 4-(2-thiazolylazo)resorcinol (TAR) or 5-methyl-4-(2-thiazolylazo)resorcinol (5MTAR) total phenols after nitrosation of USEPA classified 11 priority pollutant phenols polyprenol and doUchoP ... 

Chung, Y. S., Determination of total phenols in environmental waters by capillary-HPLC with USEPA classified eleven priority pollutant phenols after nitrosation and their visible spectrophotometric detection, Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society 26(2), 297-302, 2005. 

In a description of environmental problems, the coherence between processes in all compartments and organisms belonging to the compartments should be considered. Environmental policy in the past was often focused on a single compartment there was no international agreement on the selection of criteria for priority pollutants (I). This situation is illustrated by the number of priority pollutants selected by authorities in the European community and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The European community lists 126 priority pollutants, and the USEPA lists 114 59 pollutants are common to both lists (I). 

Two analytical methods for priority pollutants specified by the USEPA (38) use HPLC separation and fluorescence or electrochemical detection. Method 605, 40 CFR Part 136, determines benzidine and 3,3-dichlorobenzidine by amperometric detection at +0.80 V, versus a silver/silver chloride reference electrode, at a glassy carbon electrode. Separation is achieved with a 1 1 (v/v) mixture of acetonitrile and a pH 4.7 acetate buffer (1 M) under isocratic conditions on an ethyl-bonded reversed-phase column. Lower limits of detection are reported to be 0.05 /xg/L for benzidine and 0.1 /xg/L for 3,3-dichlorobenzidine. Method 610, 40 CFR Part 136, determines 16 PAHs by either GC or HPLC. The HPLC method is required when all 16 PAHs need to be individually determined. The GC method, which uses a packed column, cannot adequately individually resolve all 16 PAHs. The method specifies gradient elution of the PAHs from a reversed-phase analytical column and fluorescence detection with an excitation wavelength of 280 nm and an emission wavelength of 389 nm for all but three PAHs naphthalene, acenaphthylene, and acenaphthene. As a result of weak fluorescence, these three PAHs are detected with greater sensitivity by UV-absorption detection at 254 nm. Thus, the method requires that fluores-... 

Phase transfer processes describe the different methodologies that we have available for isolating samples for each of these methods. Which methods are best A focus of attention is the priority pollutant concept that the USEPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] uses. Does the European community agree with the priority pollutant approach ... 

GURKA Well, the specific compound approach obviously wastes most of the information available in the extract. I mean it is bad enough now that the USEPA only considers about 126 priority pollutant com-... 

TABOR At the USEPA Workshop at Palo Alto, California, in July 1984 [see chapter 2 of this book], it was suggested that every one of the six isolation protocols recommended would be tested with surrogate compounds to validate the procedures, and Dave Brusick of Litton Bionetics and some of the other biologists in the group were talking about lists of compounds on the priority pollutant list and others to reflect compounds with and without known mutagenic activity. 

Some PAH like benzo[ ]pyrene and their metabolites are teratogenic and mutagenic [27]. In the late 1970s, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) listed 16 PAH as priority pollutants (Fig. 6). This list was later adopted by the European Union. Moreover, the CAFE directive of the European Union establishes an annual limit value of 1 ng/m3 for the occurrence of benzol a pyrene in the atmosphere (Council Directive 2004/107/EC Official Journal, L 023, 26/01/ 2005 pp. 3-6). 

Each class of the aforementioned organic pollutants may include hundreds of substituted compounds. For example, chlorinated benzenes may include one hexachlorobenzene, a pentachlorobenzene, three dichlorobenzenes, and three trichlorobenzenes. Table 2.1 lists 100 priority pollutants classified by the USEPA. 

USEPA, 1995. Supercritical Water Oxidation Model Development for Selected EPA Priority Pollutants Project Summary, EPA/600/SR/080, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 1995, 4 pp. 

Marine water samples within 1 km of the coastline of Singapore were analysed to determine prevalent concentrations of a range of POPs by Basheer et al. (2003a). Samples were collected from 0.5 m and mid-depth (approximately 14 m depth) at 22 coastal locations (Fig. 15.1). POPs analysed are classed as USEPA priority pollutants, and included 16 PAHs 8 PCBs and 12 OCPs. 

Warner, M.P, Cohon, J.M., Irlane, J.C. (1987) Determination of Henry s Law Constants of Selected priority pollutants. EPA/600/D-87/227 USEPA, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

USEPA (1979) Water Related Environmental Pate of 129 Priority Pollutants. Volumes 1 and 2. US. EPA-560-/7-85-002a. 

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