The nonionic surfactant pollution profile of Israel Mediterranean Sea coastal water

Anionic and nonionic surfactants, as core components of detergent formulati ons. contribute significantly to the pollution profile of sewage and wastew aters of all kinds. In Israel about 15% of the total amount of ca. 4x10(8) m(3)/year of sewage is discharged, directly, or via receiving streams/river s. into the Mediterranean Sea. Based on our previous findings that about 85 % of the nonionic surfactants in the country's sewage are nonbiodegradable alkylphenol-based ethoxylates, we have undertaken this study, aiming at map ping the receiving eastern Mediterranean seawater with respect to its nonio nic surfactant pollution profile. The total concentrations of nonionic surf actants were found - via reverse phase HPLC determinations - to be within t he range of 4.2-25.0 ppb in seawater samples taken 2-3 m off the coastline at those locations where sewage-containing streams flow into the sea. Thus, neither the existing sewage treatment facilities nor natural biodegradatio n processes in receiving surface water systems are capable of avoiding this coastal water pollution. The potential estrogenic health risk of such conc entrations of the anthropogenic EPEOs is dependent, among other things, on their specific homological distribution, biodegradation rate (slower for th ose having > 10 EO units) and survival.