Quaternary ammonium compounds
Quaternary ammonium compounds, QAC, are ingredients found in household products such as fabric softeners, detergents, disinfectants, and hair products that consist of dialkyldimethylammonium compounds (DADMC), benzylalkyldimethylammonium compounds (BAC) and alkyltrimethylammonium compounds (ATMAC) (Li and Brownawell 2010). While trying to find the reason why these rivers keep getting contaminated, Brownawell found out that the wastewater areas found in surficial sediments around the Hudson River contained Quaternary Ammonium Compounds. High Concentrations of the Quaternary Ammonium Compounds are mostly found in muddy and sediment areas allowing contaminated sewages to continuously occur in urban estuary sediments (Li and Brownawell 2010). Many Quaternary Ammonium Compounds have a substance called antimicrobial, and it basically kills the growth of bacteria’s and fungi’s, and a plethora are used as disinfectants (Pritchard 1967). BACs and other Quaternary Ammonium Compounds are infecting the wastewater, which is also affecting the drinking waters. Scientist hypothesized that if they used super hydrophobic DTDMAC, it will help to decontaminate the sewage-affected sediment. In order to prove their hypothesis, scientists measured findings collected in sewage sludge in Europe, Austrian rivers, and Metropolitan regions; these findings were very high levels of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds. Sediment samples were collected to compare Quaternary Ammonium Compounds of organic contaminants measured in the same samples. The sediments removed from sewage sources were used to support the hypothesis made by the scientists (Li and Brownawell 2010). About 47 sediments samples were collected within the areas of NY/NJ Harbor and Jamaica Bay. Samples were then analyzed, gathered and used in a Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program to figure out the ecological conditions within a regional and local scale (Thompson 2012). Muddy samples were analyzed with a high total