Benzotriazole and tolyltriazole as aquatic contaminants. 1. Input and occurrence in rivers and lakes

The complexing agents benzotriazole (BT) and tolyltriazole (TT) are not only widely applied as anticorrosives, e. g., in aircraft deicer and anti-icer fluid (ADAF), but they are also used for so-called silver protection in dishwasher detergents. Due to their low biodegradability and limited sorption tendency, BT and TT are only partly removed in wastewater treatment. Residual concentrations of BT and TT were determined in ambient surface waters in Switzerland including 7 rivers which have distinct water flows and receive treated wastewater effluents at various dilution ratios. A maximum BT concentration of 6.3 mu g/L was found in the Glatt River, and a maximum mass flow of 277 kg BT per week was observed in the Rhine River. In most cases, TT was about a factor 5-10 less abundant. During winter 2003/4, BT mass flows at 2 locations in the lower stretch of the Glatt River clearly indicated the input from nearby Zurich airport, where BT was applied as an anticorrosive ADAF component. BT concentrations measured in the three lakes Greifensee, Lake Zurich, and Lake Geneva were approximately 1.2, 0.1-0.4, and 0.2 mu g/L, respectively. The observed environmental occurrences indicate that BT and TT are ubiquitous contaminants in the aquatic environment and that they belong to the most abundant individual water pollutants.