OCCURENCE, FATE, AND TRANSPORT OF PHARMACEUTICALS AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS IN AN ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE SYSTEM AT PENN STATE'S LIVING FILTER

Municipal wastewater treatment, remediation and reuse remain critical topics in the present eco-friendly age of dwindling water resources. The occurrence of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic environments is the newest potential water pollution concern. This study looks at the occurrence, fate and transport of PPCPs at Penn State's Living Filter Project, an integrated wastewater recycling system consisting of secondary effluent, overland flow, flow through natural wetlands, infiltration/percolation through the deep soil column, and groundwater recharge. Penn State University has been applying up to 4 mgpd of secondary sewage effluent at a 2-inch per week rate year-round at the Living Filter Site since 1983. A unique opportunity exists to assess the fate and transport of PPCPs through an entire water system consisting of secondary treatment, land application, infiltration and groundwater recharge. The current study is gauging the dependence of the occurrence, fate and transport of PPCPs on season and temperature.

Water samples are extracted via solid phase extraction on 3M Empore High Performance Extraction Disks. Analyses are preformed on a HP 6890 Gas Chromatograph coupled with an HP 5973 Mass Selective Detector using a customized temperature program. Initial scoping studies and preliminary results are presented for secondary effluent, overland flow, overland flow before and after wetland treatment, soil water, and groundwater. A variety of PPCPs including atrazine, DEET, cholesterol, acetaminophen, 2, 6-di-tert-butyl phenol, trimethoprim, and 5-methyl-1H-benzotriazole have been found within the Living Filter system. Future work will include the development of a fate and transport model for PPCPs within the unsaturated zone using chlorine as a conservative tracer.