Transnational Action Program on Emerging Substances

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Emerging Substances from diffuse sources increasingly contaminate the environment. Due to their low molecular weight and their physico-chemical characteristics most present treatment systems (wastewater and drinking water) do not or not remove sufficiently this contamination. Although on the short run there is likely to be no health risk. the effects for humans and nature on the long run is unknown. Therefore. drinking water organisations and wastewater treatment organisations are budgeting many millions of euros for instance for investment in new treatment technologies. but are doubting the most effective and efficient approach to spend this money. A lot of (often public funded) research has been performed and quite a few new treatment technologies have been piloted but not yet implemented in practice. Besides. so far there is limited/no collaboration between partners within the water cycle. At the same time. combatting ES is an international and problem. This project aims to combat ES by an international. water cycle based approach in order to allocate the millions of Euro’s available for investment in a most efficient and effective way. To realise this. the project will provide experience based knowledge on the effectiveness of various techniques and the best way to incorporate these in the water cycle . Based on these outcomes. the project will also provide decision makers with instruments on which they can base their investment decisions. Finally. the project will provide a blue print how to unlock the R&D potential for end users. thus bridging the gap between R&D results and insights on one hand and practical implementation on the other.

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