Fate of pharmaceutical and trace organic compounds in three septic system plumes, Ontario, Canada

Three high volume septic systems in Ontario, Canada, were examined to assess the potential for onsite wastewater treatment systems to release pharmaceutical compounds to he environment and to evaluate the mobility of these compounds in receiving aquifers. Wastewater samples were collected from the septic tanks, and groundwater samples were collected below and down gradient of the infiltration beds and analyzed for a suite of commonly used pharmaceutical and trace organic compounds. The septic tank samples contained elevated concentrations of several pharmaceutical compounds. Ten of the 12 compounds analyzed were detected in groundwater at one or more sites at concentrations in the low ng L-1 to low mu g L-1 range. Large differences among the sites were observed in both the number of detections and the concentrations of the pharmaceutical compounds. Of the compounds analyzed, ibuprofen, gemfibrozil, and naproxen were observed to be transported at the highest concentrations and greatest distances from the infiltration source areas, particularly in anoxic zones of the plumes.