Aquatic environmental assessment of the top 25 English prescription pharmaceuticals

Jones, Oliver A.H.; Voulvoulis, Nikolaos; Lester, J.N.

doi:10.1016/s0043-1354(02)00227-0

Cited by 642 publications

(251 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

232

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The increase of the load at site 3 is due to the input of the Somesul Mare River where wastewater effluents from relatively important cities (Bistrita, Nasaud, and Beclean) are being discharged. Because carbamazepine is not significantly removed in WWTPs (Jones et al 2002;Strenn et al 2004;Wiegel et al 2004;Joss et al 2005) it can be a good indicator for evaluating whether surface water is impacted by contamination from municipal sewage effluent or whether contamination associated with sewage effluent can be transported into ground water at ground water recharge sites Heberer et al 2004). Caffeine has a widespread usage in beverages, food, and pharmaceuticals.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental exposure of pharmaceuticals and musk fragrances in the Somes River before and after upgrading the municipal wastewater treatment plant Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Moldovan

Chira²,

Alder

2008

Environ Sci Pollut Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background, aim, and scope Pharmaceutically active substances are a class of emerging contaminants, which has led to increasing concern about potential environmental risks. After excretion, substantial amounts of unchanged pharmaceuticals and their metabolites are discharged into domestic wastewaters. The absence of data on the environmental exposure in Eastern Europe is significant, since use patterns and volumes differ from country to country. In Romania, the majority of wastewater, from highly populated cities and industrial complex zones, is still discharged into surface waters without proper treatment or after inefficient treatment. In respect to this, it is important to determine the environmental occurrence and behavior of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in wastewaters and surface waters. The objective of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of selected PPCPs during the transport in the Somes River by mass flow analysis before and after upgrading a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Cluj-Napoca, which serves 350,000 inhabitants and is the largest plant discharging into the Somes River. The concentrations of PPCPs at Cluj-Napoca can be correlated with the high population and a high number of hospitals located in the catchment area leading to higher mass flows. The results of this study are expected to provide information, with respect to the Romanian conditions, for environmental scientists, WWTP operators, and legal authorities. The data should support the improvement of existing WWTPs and implementation of new ones where necessary and, therefore, minimize the input of contaminants into ambient waters. Materials and methods The PPCPs were selected on the basis of consumption at the regional scale, reported aquatic toxicity, and the suitability of the gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method for the determination of the compounds at trace levels. The studied PPCPs, caffeine (stimulant), carbamazepine (antiepileptic), pentoxifylline (anticoagulant), cyclophosphamide (cytostatic), ibuprofen (analgesic), and galaxolide (musk fragrance), were determined in samples of the Somes River. The analytes were enriched by solid-phase extraction and subsequently determined by GC/MS. Caffeine, pentoxifylline, and galaxolide were determined underivatized, whereas the acidic pharmaceuticals carbamazepine, cyclophosphamide, and ibuprofen were determined after derivatization with N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide. Results and discussion The concentrations in the Somes River varied from below 10 ng/L up to 10 μg/L. A substantial decrease of the exposure in the Somes River could be observed due to the upgrade of the municipal WWTP in Cluj-Napoca. The loads in the river stretch between Cluj-Napoca and Dej (Somes Mic) varied strongly:Environ Sci Pollut Res (2009) 16 (Suppl 1):S46-S54

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental exposure of pharmaceuticals and musk fragrances in the Somes River before and after upgrading the municipal wastewater treatment plant Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Moldovan

Chira²,

Alder

2008

Environ Sci Pollut Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Even considering their use at sub-therapeutically con-centrations, many studies suggest the development of bacterial resistance and further potential appearance of cross-resistance between different classes of antibiotics shared with humans [43,58,120,128]. Antibiotics used in livestock production are excreted in the urine and faeces of animals and often appear in manure.…”

Section: Antibioticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Erithromycin showed lic health by means of treatment effectiveness [52,108]. According to Jones et al [120], antibiotics could be classified as extremely the strongest activity against S. capricornutum with an EC50 value toxic to microorganisms (EC50 below 0.1 mg L −1 ) and very toxic to algae (EC50 between 0.1 and 1 mg L −1 ). Chronic toxicity tests performed on algae have shown high sensitivity to antibacte-rial agents as deduced from growth inhibition measurements [121,122].…”

Section: Antibioticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecotoxicological aspects related to the presence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment

Santos

Araújo

Fachini

et al. 2010

Journal of Hazardous Materials

1,302

533

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pharmaceuticals are biologically active and persistent substances which have been recognized as a con-tinuing threat to environmental stability. Chronic ecotoxicity data as well as information on the current distribution levels in different environmental compartments continue to be sparse and are focused on those therapeutic classes that are more frequently prescribed and consumed. Nevertheless, they indicate the negative impact that these chemical contaminants may have on living organisms, ecosystems and ultimately, public health. This article reviews the different contamination sources as well as fate and both acute and chronic effects on nontarget organisms. An extensive review of existing data in the form of tables, encompassing many therapeutic classes is presented.Keywords: Pharmaceuticals, Sources, Environmental fate, Ecotoxicological effects

show abstract

“…1). Pathways to humans and groundwater from human and animal pharmaceuticals have been proposed [3,[94][95]. Compounds which pose a threat include those which remain difficult to analyse for at low concentrations and those which have physicochemical properties which allow them to persistent during and after drinking water treatment.…”

Section: Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging Organic Contaminants in Groundwater

Stuart

Lapworth

2013

Smart Sensors, Measurement and Instrumentation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Emerging organic contaminants (ECs) are compounds now being found in groundwater from agricultural, urban sources that were previously not detectable, or thought to be significant. ECs include pesticides and degradates, pharmaceuticals, industrial compounds, personal care products, fragrances, water treatment byproducts, flame retardants and surfactants, as well as 'life-style' compounds such as caffeine and nicotine. ECs may have adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems and human health.Frequently detected ECs include the anti-epileptic drug carbamazepine, the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, the anti-inflammatories ibuprofen and diclofenac, and caffeine, as well as pesticide degradates. This means there will be challenges in the future in order to address these ECs and to minimise their impact on drinking water and ecosystems. In the coming decades, more ECs are likely to have environmental standards defined, and therefore a better understanding of environmental behaviour remains a priority.

show abstract

Aquatic environmental assessment of the top 25 English prescription pharmaceuticals

Cited by 642 publications

References 25 publications

Environmental exposure of pharmaceuticals and musk fragrances in the Somes River before and after upgrading the municipal wastewater treatment plant Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Environmental exposure of pharmaceuticals and musk fragrances in the Somes River before and after upgrading the municipal wastewater treatment plant Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Ecotoxicological aspects related to the presence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment

Emerging Organic Contaminants in Groundwater

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About