Evolution of toxicity and estrogenic activity throughout AOP’s surface and drinking water treatment

Abstract

Nowadays, increasing pollution of surface and drinking water with hundreds of chemical compounds, lots of them toxic and persistent, presents a major problem in access to safe drinking water supply. Although low concentrations of pollutants such as natural and synthetic estrogens have been measured in surface and drinking water, they could be biologically active even at these concentration levels. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are very powerful tools for removal of recalcitrant compounds from water streams as they are able to mineralize or degrade organic compounds. In this chapter, development of toxicity and estrogenic activity of water samples treated by AOPs, which depends on the oxidation process used and experimental conditions, is discussed. Evolution of species-specific toxicity was particularly evident during the photocatalytic oxidation of herbicide iodosulfuron, as greatly enhanced toxicity of treated samples was detected in the case of water fleas Daphnia magna. Therefore, it is clearly seen that the efficiency of applied AOPs for removal of pollutants from surface and drinking water should be checked by a comprehensive analysis including determination of remaining parent compounds, identification, and quantification of intermediates as well as assessment of possible biological adverse effects of treated water samples.