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(M/EH105) Surfactant-derived alkylphenolic compounds in Croatian wastewaters – patterns and temporal trends in a transition country. Terzic, Senka1, Ahel, Marijan1, 1 ABSTRACT- Alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APnEO) and their stable metabolites, including lipophylic APnEO, alkylphenols (AP) and alkylphenoxy carboxylic acids (APEC), have been determined in wastewaters of several Croatian municipalities as well as in ambient waters, using HPLC and GC/MS techniques. The homologue composition of the target chemicals was strongly dominated by nonylphenolic compounds, while their oligomer pattern, peaking at NP9-10EO, indicated that a large percentage of alkylphenolic compounds derive from common NPnEO-surfactants. Such composition pattern is very similar to the one found in other European regions. However, as opposed to a typical situation in Western Europe, where large percentage of wastewaters are mechanically and biologically treated, majority of the wastewaters in a transition country, like Croatia, are released into ambient waters without any treatment. As a consequence of lacking biological treatment, a significantly larger portion of the total APnEO-input reaches natural waters. Moreover, the composition of alkylphenolic compounds in such raw effluents is shown to be ecotoxicologically less favourable due to the enhanced relative contribution of the most toxic and endocrine-disrupting alkylphenolic compounds such as AP and lipophilic APnEO. Although the use of APnEO surfactants in Croatia is not legally restricted, decreasing levels of alkylphenolic compounds in Croatian wastewaters during the last decade clearly reflect the effects of legal and voluntary risk reduction measures introduced in Western Europe. Key words: alkylphenol polyethoxylates, wastewater, surfactants, nonylphenol |
