The case of the persistent (“hard”) nonionic surfactants in the environment

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Abstract
In spite of many years of efforts worldwide to prevent pollution of surface‐ and groundwater bodies by surfactants, studies have indicated that the nonbiodegradable ("hard") types and their metabolites, the nonionics in particular, are present in both. Since the residuals of the “hard”; nonionic surfactants in post‐treatment wastewater effluents are quite substantial, their presence in receiving waters is to be expected. Concentrations of nonionic surfactants in effluents and receiving waters were found to be within the range of 0.040–1.40 mg/L and 2–300 μg/L respectively, in Europe, US and Israel. In the latter, NPE‐type nonionic surfactant concentrations of 1.6–2.6 mg/L in polluted streams resulted in concentrations of 0.12–0.78 mg/L in adjacent water wells. Since the “hard”; nonionic surfactants do infiltrate into groundwater in Israel, a total ban on their use in detergent formulation is proposed concomitantly with an immediate switch to a research‐based management of our water resources.