Environmental awareness: Taking responsibility

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) water quality-based approach for controlling the release of toxics to surface waters is being implemented in various forms throughout the country. Toxicity identification/reduction evaluations (TI/REs) are being used to characterize and identify the causes of toxicity in industrial and municipal effluents and to reduce effluent toxicity to acceptable levels. Toxicity reduction in these complex effluents is being achieved through various engineering solutions including industrial process changes, pretreatment of individual waste streams, industrial pretreatment programs (in municipal systems), and end-of-pipe treatment modifications or new treatment installations.