Industrial discharge
water, and especially that from the surface treatment industry (ST), contains
non-negligible amounts of pollutants even though the legislation is fully
respected. In spite of this, no detailed studies list the exact chemical
composition of these effluents. The present study reports the results of
analyses performed over a 6-month period involving 15 standard water parameters.
Over 160 substances including 33 metals, 58 volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 24 chlorophenols (CPs), 16
alkylphenols (APs), 5 chloroanilines (CAs) and 7 polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs)
were monitored. The industrial effluents presented polycontamination involving
metals, minerals and organics with a high degree of qualitative and
quantitative variability. Of the 160 substances monitored, 46 were regularly
found: 25 inorganics including 8 metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Sn, Zn) and 21
organics (4 PAHs, 10 VOCs, 4 CPs and 3 APs). Eighteen were systematically presented at quantifiable levels.