Monitoring of polyaromatic hydrocarbons using passive samplers in domestic and urban wastewater treatment plants

As the usage of pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, and cosmetic products increases worldwide today, types of micropollutants have emerged. Micropollutants have a persistent structure and possess bioaccumulation characteristics. Their bioaccumulation features create adverse effects in every habitat of living organisms, but it is known that these negative examples are more prevalent in aquatic life. Micropollutants are resistant to biological treatment, therefore they cannot be completely removed in domestic wastewater treatment plants. These pollutants, which meet receiving environments with wastewaters that cannot be fully purified from micropollutants in domestic wastewater treatment plants where biological treatment is prioritized, first appear in surface waters, then in groundwater, and finally in drinking water, seriously affecting the health of modern and ecological life. Within the scope of this study, the passive sampling method was used to monitor and identify types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are selected important micropollutants in wastewater in Antalya province. Octopus-type passive samplers were placed in Lara Domestic Wastewater Treatment Plant (LDWTP) and Hurma Wastewater Treatment Plant (HWTP), one each at the coarse screens where wastewater enters the facilities and the discharge part after the final stage of treatment, chlorination. The sample collection process was conducted between November 2022 and April 2023. After the samples were collected, they were subjected to extraction and analysed with GC-MS. According to the analysis results, the change in PAH in the wastewater over 6 months, the source of pollution, and the efficiency of the treatment processes in PAH removal were observed and interpreted.