New partnership to help detect harmful disruptors in WWTPs

Paris, France, Oct. 28, 2013 -- A testing process to detect the presence of endocrine disruptors in wastewater treatment plants is underway to be industrialized through a partnership between WatchFrog and Veolia.

WatchFrog, a spin-off of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, has developed smart biosensors to rapidly assess the quality of the water that leaves wastewater treatment plants and its impact on biodiversity. In partnership with Veolia Environnement, they have produced a tool to identify the presence of endocrine disruptors (such as thyroid, estrogen and adrenocorticotropic hormones) in wastewater through the fluorescence of parts of fish larvae or tadpoles. Thanks to this innovative tool, frog larvae fluoresce when they are disturbed by these pollutants. The greater the disturbance, the brighter the fluorescence.

WatchFrog and Veolia will industrialize their testing process to detect the presence of endocrine disruptors in wastewater treatment plants. (Photo credit: Veolia / Majani d'Inguimbert)

The purpose of this new partnership between Veolia and WatchFrog is the production and commercialization of this measurement tool that will help to measure the elimination of these pollutants in wastewater treatment processes. Veolia's existing proprietary tertiary wastewater treatment technologies, including ActifloCarb, remove emerging micro-pollutants such as endocrine disruptors. Combined with the oxidizing action of ozone, the process can eliminate more than 95 percent of endocrine disruptors and their by-products.

Pending the implementation of new EU legislation related to endocrine disruptors, Veolia Environnement and WatchFrog have decided to combine their expertise and technologies to improve public health and reduce environmental impact. The information provided by this testing process will allow fine-tuning of the ActifloCarb wastewater treatment process.

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