Leachability of some emerging contaminants in reclaimed municipal wastewater-irrigated turf grass fields

Emerging pollutants inherent in reclaimed municipal wastewater, including endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), often have cast uncertainties on the safety of water reuse. We examined the fate and transport behavior of several PPCP and EDC compounds through observations made at experimental turf fields irrigated with naproxen, clofibric acid, diclofenac sodium, ibuprofen, estrone, 4-tert-octylphenol, bisphenol A, 4-n-nonylphenol, and triclosan latent irrigation water. The potential of the compounds to contaminate underlying groundwater was assessed using three screening protocols that employed the attributes of soils, chemicals, and water fluxes as the estimators. No compound was detected in the leachate draining through the 89-cm profile of a loamy sand soil and a sandy loam soil turf grass field during four months of irrigation according to operations typical of golf courses in southern California (USA). Ibuprofen, naproxen, triclosan, bisphenol A, clofibric acid, and estrone were detected in the surface to 30-cm soil profiles. Higher irrigation rate and coarser textural soil enhanced the downward movement of chemicals in both soils. The pollution risk screenings identified the same six compounds as having the potential to contaminate groundwater, and under conditions of turf grass irrigation, clofibric acid and ibuprofen would be most prone to cause the pollution.