ultraviolet is the less studied (6.4%) however is the fastest process to remove the
compounds. Toxicity evaluation during the oxidation process is an important tool to
assess possible effects of by-product to human and environment health.
Keywords Advanced oxidation processes · Personal care products · Pharmaceutical
compounds · Wastewater treatment
10.1 Introduction
Industries, agriculture, and the general population use water daily and release many
compounds in wastewaters. These activities play an important role regarding the
presence of micropollutants in waters and wastewaters (Deblonde et al. 2011).
Micropollutants have increasingly become of concern in nowadays, due to their
occurrence in the environment. As well as being described as emergent contaminants, they consist of a broad and expanding range of substances. These include
pharmaceuticals and personal care products, endocrine-disrupting compounds, illicit
drugs, pesticides, and several other compounds that are not included in environmental monitoring programs (Luo et al. 2014).
The presence of micropollutants in the environment has frequently been associated with many adverse effects in wild organisms, e.g., chronic toxicity, endocrine
disrupting, and antibiotic resistance (Fent et al. 2006; Pruden et al. 2006). According
to the US Environmental Protection Agency 2001, endocrine-disrupting compounds
are, by definition, “exogenous agents that interfere with the synthesis, secretion,
transport, binding, action and elimination of natural hormones in the body,” thus
promoting the breakdown of hormonal homeostasis. Endocrine-disrupting compounds include a broad spectrum of compounds which have natural and synthetic
steroid hormones representing one of the main examples of endocrine-disrupting
compounds found in wastewaters. Li et al. 2013 collected samples from a rural
wastewater treatment plant in the United States where they found estrone (16.9 ng/
L), estriol (126 ng/L), and estrone 3-sulfate (21.2 ng/L). Bartelt-Hunt et al.
2011investigated endocrine-disrupting compounds and their metabolites in US
aqueous matrices. Several hormones and metabolites from human excretion were
found in wastewater ranging from 30 to 3600 ng L
À1 ; these substances are linked to
several disorders in reproductive systems such as imposex, decrease of fertility,
hermaphroditism, and hormone-dependent cancers (Gültekin and Ince 2007). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products comprise a diverse groups of organic
compounds. The pharmaceutical compounds include antibiotics agents, antiinflammatory, anti-hypertensives, and anxiolytic drugs. Personal care products are
represented to antimicrobial agents, insect repellents, synthetic musks, preservatives,
and sunscreen filters (Liu and Wong 2013). Montagner et al. 2014 studied the
personal care producttriclosan in several rivers in Brazil, for 1 year, and detected
300
E. M. Saggioro
compounds. Toxicity evaluation during the oxidation process is an important tool to
assess possible effects of by-product to human and environment health.
Keywords Advanced oxidation processes · Personal care products · Pharmaceutical
compounds · Wastewater treatment
10.1 Introduction
Industries, agriculture, and the general population use water daily and release many
compounds in wastewaters. These activities play an important role regarding the
presence of micropollutants in waters and wastewaters (Deblonde et al. 2011).
Micropollutants have increasingly become of concern in nowadays, due to their
occurrence in the environment. As well as being described as emergent contaminants, they consist of a broad and expanding range of substances. These include
pharmaceuticals and personal care products, endocrine-disrupting compounds, illicit
drugs, pesticides, and several other compounds that are not included in environmental monitoring programs (Luo et al. 2014).
The presence of micropollutants in the environment has frequently been associated with many adverse effects in wild organisms, e.g., chronic toxicity, endocrine
disrupting, and antibiotic resistance (Fent et al. 2006; Pruden et al. 2006). According
to the US Environmental Protection Agency 2001, endocrine-disrupting compounds
are, by definition, “exogenous agents that interfere with the synthesis, secretion,
transport, binding, action and elimination of natural hormones in the body,” thus
promoting the breakdown of hormonal homeostasis. Endocrine-disrupting compounds include a broad spectrum of compounds which have natural and synthetic
steroid hormones representing one of the main examples of endocrine-disrupting
compounds found in wastewaters. Li et al. 2013 collected samples from a rural
wastewater treatment plant in the United States where they found estrone (16.9 ng/
L), estriol (126 ng/L), and estrone 3-sulfate (21.2 ng/L). Bartelt-Hunt et al.
2011investigated endocrine-disrupting compounds and their metabolites in US
aqueous matrices. Several hormones and metabolites from human excretion were
found in wastewater ranging from 30 to 3600 ng L
À1 ; these substances are linked to
several disorders in reproductive systems such as imposex, decrease of fertility,
hermaphroditism, and hormone-dependent cancers (Gültekin and Ince 2007). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products comprise a diverse groups of organic
compounds. The pharmaceutical compounds include antibiotics agents, antiinflammatory, anti-hypertensives, and anxiolytic drugs. Personal care products are
represented to antimicrobial agents, insect repellents, synthetic musks, preservatives,
and sunscreen filters (Liu and Wong 2013). Montagner et al. 2014 studied the
personal care producttriclosan in several rivers in Brazil, for 1 year, and detected
300
E. M. Saggioro