Biosensors help evaluate performance of waste water treatment works
Proceedings from the EU concerted action BIOSET technical meeting, which focused on biosensors for the evaluation of the performance of waste water treatment works, held in Barcelona in April 2000, are now available. 'Overall the technical meeting was a successful event, with the presence not only of scientists involved in the development and use of biosensors, but also environmental chemists, wastewater treatment plant experts and end-users from the water supply sector,' comment the authors of the report. The technical meeting aimed to achieve a step forward in the use and implementation of biosensors in field conditions by evaluating the performance of waste water treatment works (WWTW). Participants evaluated different types of biosensors that can be used to assess the effectiveness of wastewater treatment. The technical meeting was organised in three different sessions. The first included platform presentations on the different biosensor principles and also about the operation of wastewater treatment plants. The second session was devoted to biosensor measurements in real-world conditions. And the third session corresponded to the final discussions and conclusions of the technical meeting that took place at the CSIC. Researchers from the consortium brought an assortment of biosensors to the technical meeting for site measurements over a two day period. These included effect-type biosensors to determine endocrine (hormone) disrupting substances and those which detect analytes or groups of analytes (such as phenols, and pesticides) present in waste water. The final discussions and conclusions of the technical meeting are included in the BIOSET final report. It was organised jointly by the European Union and CSIC with the technical support of the Agencia Catalana de l'Áigua and Consorci per la Defensa de la Conca del Besos.