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The concentrations of various substances in water in dissolved, colloidal or suspended form are typically low but vary considerably. Priority Pollutants refer to a list of 126 specific pollutants that includes heavy metals and specific organic chemicals. The priority pollutants are a subset of "toxic pollutants" as defined in the Clean Water Act (USA). These 126 pollutants were assigned a high priority for development of water quality criteria and effluent limitation guidelines because they are frequently found in wastewater.
Many of the heavy metals, pesticides, and other chemicals listed here are on the priority pollutant list (reference):
Heavy Metals (Total and Dissolved): "Heavy Metal" in the water treatment field refers to heavy, dense, metallic elements that occur only at trace levels in water, but are very toxic and tend to accumulate.
Pesticides: Pesticides comprise a large class of compounds of concern. Typical pesticides and herbicides include DDT, Aldrin, Chlordane, Endosulfan, Endrin, Heptachlor, and Diazinon. Surprisingly, concentrations of pesticides in urban runoff may be equal or greater than the pesticides in agricultural runoff.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons include a family of semi-volatile organic pollutants such as naphthalene, anthracene, pyrene, and benzo(a)pyrene. There are typically two main sources of PAHs: spilled or released petroleum products (from oil spills or discharge of oil production brines) and combustion products that are found in urban runoff.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): Polychlorinated biphenyls are organic chemicals that formerly had widespread use in electrical transformers and hydraulic equipment. This class of chemicals is extremely persistent in the environment and has been proven to bioconcentrate in the food chain, thereby leading to environmental and human health concerns in areas such as the Great Lakes.
