Sources, behaviour and fate of organic contaminants during sewage treatment and in sewage sludges

Recent concern over the environmental impact of sewage sludge application to agricultural land has drawn particular attention to the wide range of organic contaminants that may enter sewage treatment processes and persist in biosolids for disposal. This paper discusses processes influencing the fate and behaviour of organic contaminants during wastewater treatment and reviews literature relating to specific contaminants identified in sewage sludge. The difficulties associated with the development of specific methods for the analysis of trace residues of organic contaminants in complex matrices such as sludge are discussed. Some potential issues relating to impact of sewage sludge disposed to agricultural land are also considered.