Chemical hazard identification and assessment tool for evaluation of stormwater priority pollutants

Abstract

Assessment of chemical hazards is a critical issue, which have to be dealt with when evaluating different strategies for sustainable handling of stormwater. In the present study, a methodology for identifying the most critical and representative chemical pollutants was developed. A list of selected stormwater priority pollutants (SSPP-list) is the out-put from the procedure. Two different strategies for handling of stormwater were considered; discharge into a surface water recipient and infiltration. However, the same methodology can be used for other types of wastewater and other strategies for handling and treatment. A literature survey revealed that at least 656 xenobiotic organic compounds (XOCs) could be present in stormwater. In the next step, 233 XOCs were evaluated with respect to the potential for being hazardous towards either aquatic living organisms or humans, or causing technical or aesthetical problems. 121 XOCs were found have at least one of these negative effects, while 26 XOCs could not be assessed due to the lack of data. The hazard assessment showed that 40 XOCs had a PEC/PNEC ratio above one., e.g. they should be considered as priority pollutants. The final step is the expert judgement, which resulted in a final SSPP-list containing 16 selected priority pollutants.