Due to the large-scale production and use of synthetic chemicals in industralized countries, various chemicals are found in the aquatic environment, which are often termed as micropollutants. Effluents of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as one of the major sources of these micropollutants. In this article, the current status of occurrence and removal of micropollutants in WWTPs and their management policies and options in domestic and foregin countries were critically reviewed. A large number of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and industrial chemicals are found in WWTPs’ influent, and are only partially removed by current biological wastewater treatment processes. As a result, some micropollutants are present in WWTPs’ effluents, which can negatively affect receiving water quality or drinking water source. To better understand and assess the potential risk of micropollutants, a systematic monitoring framework including advanced analytical tools such as high resolution mass spectrometry and bioanalytical methods is needed. Some Western European countries are taking proactive approach to controlling the micropollutants by upgrading WWTP with enahnced effluent treatment processes. While this enahnced WWTP effluent treatment appears to be a viable option for controlling micropollutant, its implementation requires careful consideration of the technical, economical, political, and cultural issues of all stakeholders.

As the modern society is rapidly developing and people become affluent in materials, many new chemical compounds in different forms of products (e.g., antibiotics, pesticides, detergents, personal care products and plastic goods) are produced, used, and disposed of to the environments. Some of them are persistently having a harmful impact on the environment and mimicking endocrine properties; in general they are present in the environment at low concentrations, so they are called organic pollutants. These organic micropollutants flow to sewage treatment plants via different routes. In this study, the generation characteristics, exposure pathways, detection levels, and environmental impacts of organic micropollutants were critically reviewed. In addition, currently available risk assessment methods and management systems for the compounds were reviewed. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), for example, has monitored organic micropollutants and set the monitoring and management of some of the compounds as a priority. To effectively manage organic micropollutants in sewer systems, therefore, we should first monitor organic micropollutants of potential concern and then make a watch list of specific substances systematically, as described in guidelines on listing water pollutants in industrial wastewater.