Toxic shock from dye wastewater treatment

AMHERST – A new study has found that electrochemical wastewater treatment — used by some textile facilities to break down dye residues — can inadvertently generate highly toxic disinfection byproducts, including chloroform and bromoform, at concentrations that significantly exceed regulatory limits for drinking water.

However, industry observers urge caution over the broader conclusions. “For example, I foresee that land spreading will come under very close scrutiny and, as a result, the industry will look for methods that inherently create much smaller amounts of sludge – such as some electrochemical methods,” one expert told Ecotextile News.