Organic Micropollutants in Surface Waters of the Glatt Valley, Switzerland

Summary

Pentachlorophenol, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol, 4-nonylphenol, 4-nonyl-phenolmonoethoxyl ate, 4-nonylphenoldiethoxylate, tetrachloroethylene and 1,4-dichlorobenzene were quantitatively determined in surface waters of the Glatt Valley, Switzerland. Monthly samples were collected during one year from four locations along the Glatt River, from two small creeks and from the effluents of two municipal wastewater treatment plants. The longitudinal concentration and load profiles found in the Glatt River indicated that all of these micropollutants are mainly introduced into the river via treated wastewater effluents. The highly chlorinated phenols remain unchanged in the river, while the other pollutants are affected by various physico-chemical and biological processes. Depth profiles of tetrachloroethylene in the Greifensee, the lake which feeds the Glatt, showed that this compound was eliminated from the epilimnion by transfer to the atmosphere and by discharge into the Glatt River.

On leave of absence from the Center for Marine Research, “Rudget Boskovic ” Institute, Zagreb, Yugoslavia