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THIS PROJECT IS BEING PART-FINANCED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND

The aim of work package 3 (WP3) under the COHIBA project (Control of Hazardous Substances in the Baltic Sea Region), coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute, was to identify the sources of the 11 hazardous substances specified in the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). The aim was also to attest to the applicability of biological tests, designed for toxicity assessment, to whole effluents (WEA). Research was conducted on effluents from municipal and industrial waste water treatment plants, landfill leachates, urban storm water, and sludges from municipal treatment plants, which are eventually discharged to the Baltic Sea. Based on the results of the biotests performed and scientific literature, limit values were proposed for ecotoxicity tests, to be used within HELCOM. In addition to analysis of hazardous substances, some physical and chemical basic parameters were also measured from effluents. No significant differences were found in the basic parameters (BOD, COD Cr, suspended solids, pH, total phosphorus, total nitrogen and conductivity) measured from the effluents of various treatment plants, but there were seasonal variations in effluent quality in all plants. These variations were also visible in the results of the specified hazardous substances and biotests. Short-term toxicity tests showed occasional acute toxicity. Longterm tests indicated more frequent and more severe effects. Chemical studies showed that the 11 HELCOM priority substances were present in all sample types. Although these hazardous substances were observed in all sample types, their concentrations were low. It is impossible to demonstrate the effects of an individual substance in waste water, because of the combined effects of all substances in the aquatic environment. However, the purpose of the project was not to determine the effects of the 11 substances but to identify their potential sources. The biotests were performed in order to show their usefulness in determining the hazardous effects of effluents and in supporting measures aimed at their reduction.