Sponsor:
German Environmental Agency, Dessau (F + E 102 06 514)
Realisation:
Hydrotox GmbH, Stefan Gartiser (project management)
Institute of Environmental Medicine and Hospital Epidemiology, University Freiburg, Ludger Brinker
Project duration:
1992 – 1995
Summary
Hospital waste water (a total 42 of samples) obtained from different areas (total waste water, medical, laundries, large kitchens and laboratories) was investigated using chemical analyses and biological testing methods. In conjunction, the consumption of several product groups relevant to the waste water has been compiled. The water consumption strongly influenced the quality of the corresponding waste water. The values of the chemical parameters tested were mostly in the range expected for municipal waste water. The AOX concentrations were distinctly elevated (on average, 0.41 mg/l in total waste water and 0.95 mg/l in the medical waste water). Calculations from the known consumption of different compounds revealed iodinated x-ray contrast media as the dominant contributor to the total AOX-load of the waste waters being considered. Some of the total and some laboratory waste water samples showed a high toxicity in the daphnia and luminescent bacteria tests. Using the Ames and hamster cell tests, 5 of 23 samples from clinical areas and 7 of 9 samples from laboratories were assessed as mutagenic. The origin of this mutagenic potential has not been determined.
Further information
The final report has been published in German in the UBA-Texte series No. 74/95 in January 1996, but is out of print.
Contact Person
Dr. Stefan Gartiser (
gartiser(at)hydrotox.de, Tel: +49-(0)761-45512-24)