GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION BY DETERGENTS AND POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS - A GLOBAL PROBLEM OF ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS - IS THE SOLUTION LOCALLY SPECIFIC

The ever-increasing demand of our technological society has generated a global problem of groundwater pollution by man-made products and/or their metabolites. The penetration of detergents and polycyclic aromat ic hydrocarbons (PAH) originating, from anthropogenic sources constitu tes a major issue of environmental and health concern. In Israel, the concentrations of nonbiodegradable nonionic detergents in sewage influ ents, effluents, and water wells were found to be in the range of 1-2. 60, 0.25-0.50 and 0.12-0.78 mg/liter respectively. These results trans late the global problem of groundwater pollution into the local proble m of groundwater contaminated by synthetic detergents with all the env ironmental, health, societal, technological, economic and political is sues involved. The respective base-line data concerning PAHs is not av ailable as yet. Although some of the solutions are locally specific th ey cannot be applied independently of what is being done in this respe ct worldwide. The long-term solution requires international cooperatio n and collaboration.