Could Edc Control Change Disinfection Practices at WWTPs?

Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are produced to some degree through all types of wastewater disinfection systems used today. The Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC) has recommended that DBPs be further investigated for endocrine disruption, as some studies have suggested that they behave as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). A few DBPs are already regulated in wastewater effluent and it is possible that more will be regulated in the future, as either individual compounds or as a class, as more is known about the DBPs produced using different types of disinfectants. If EDCs in wastewater effluent are regulated in the future, and disinfectants/oxidants like ozone or advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are used to try to control them as well as provide disinfection, it will be important to consider the DBPs that are also produced in the process. These oxidation systems are even more powerful than those used for disinfection alone and will therefore probably produce even more DBPs, in addition to breakdown products of known EDCs that are more dangerous than their parent compounds. The by-products produced from all of these oxidation processes must be further studied to determine how best to proceed with both disinfection and EDC removal. There are means of controlling DBP production that could be implemented if necessary. The most cost-effective strategy that accomplishes disinfection and/or EDC removal while minimizing DBP production should be utilized.