Genotoxic impact of a municipal effluent dispersion plume in the freshwater mussel Elliptio complanata: an in situ study

Many surface waters have been reported tobe contaminated whereas the most criticalsources remain to be identified. The waste-water treatment plant (WWTP) effluents dis-charged in surface waters are one of the possi-ble sources. Indeed, these effluents often con-tain well-known contaminants such as heavymetals, pesticides and polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons, and emerging contaminantssuch as pharmaceuticals, personal care prod-ucts, hormones and flame retardants.