Illicit drugs and the environment — A review

Pal, Raktim; Megharaj, Mallavarapu; Kirkbride, K. Paul; Naidu, Ravi

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.05.086

Cited by 234 publications

(144 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…The efficiency of adsorption of methamphetamine on activated sludge is lower than in case of amphetamine (max up to 50%). Morfine is adsorbed on activated sludge by 72-99% whereas codeine by only 33% [90,91]. Cocaine was detected in raw wastewater and treated wastewater in Spain at the concentration of 384 and 16.8 ng/dm 3 , respectively.…”

Section: Presence Of Narcotics In Surface Ground and Drinking Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fate and Removal of Pharmaceuticals and Illegal Drugs Present in Drinking Water and Wastewater

Szymonik

Lach

Malińska

2017

Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S

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Rapid development of pharmaceutical industry, and thus widespread availability of different types of therapeutical and increased intake of pharmaceuticals, results in elevated concentrations of pharmaceuticals in municipal wastewater subjected to treatment in wastewater treatment plants. Pharmaceuticals present in raw wastewater discharged from hospitals, households, veterinary and health care clinics eventually end up in wastewater treatment plants. Commonly applied methods for treating wastewater do not allow complete removal of these contaminants. As a consequence, pharmaceuticals still present in treated wastewater are introduced to water environment. The most frequently identified pharmaceuticals in surface water belong to the following groups: non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs, beta-blockers, estrogens and lipid regulators. The most difficult is removal of diclofenac, clofibric acid and carbamazepine as these substances show low biodegradability. Diclofenac can be removed in the process of wastewater treatment by 40%, carbamazepine by 10%, and clofibric acid from 26 to 50%. The presence of diclofenac sodium in the rivers in Poland was confirmed and the concentrations were following: 380 ng/dm 3 (the Warta river), 470 ng/dm 3 (the Odra river), 140 ng/dm 3 (the Vistula river). Naproxene was found in the Warta river at the concentration of 100 ng/dm 3 . The presence of pharmaceuticals in surface water can be toxic to aqueous microorganisms and fish. Recent studies confirmed also the presence of pharmaceuticals in drinking water. This is considered as a problem especially in urban agglomerations such as Berlin or large cities in Spain and China. The studies showed that pharmaceuticals were also identified in the samples taken from the Polish rivers and drinking water. The presence of naproxene and diclofenac at the concentrations of 13 and 4 ng/dm 3 was identified in drinking water sampled from water intakes in Poznan. Surface water and drinking water showed also the presence of illegal drugs.

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Section: Presence Of Narcotics In Surface Ground and Drinking Watermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Acute toxicity for D. magna is 17.2 mg/dm 3 whereas chronic toxicity for C. dubia is 25 µg/dm 3 [90]. The effect of carbamazepine on fish from D. rerio species was investigated, and this substance did not cause any morphological changes either in adult organisms or in embryos [98].…”

Section: Ecotoxicity Of Pharmaceuticalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fate and Removal of Pharmaceuticals and Illegal Drugs Present in Drinking Water and Wastewater

Szymonik

Lach

Malińska

2017

Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S

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“…It is important to note that in the case of samples in wastewater, the initial concentration of 100 μg L −1 is the total concentration of the DOA, therefore taking into account the level of each DOA in the wastewater sample obtained from the treatment plant. This concentration was chosen so that the levels of the DOAs were as close as possible to the ones reported in wastewater effluent (Bijlsma et al, 2009;Huerta-Fontela et al, 2007;Martínez Bueno et al, 2011;Nuijs et al, 2009;Pal et al, 2013) but also considering the limitation associated with the LOQs for each compound and the volume of wastewater required for ozonation experiments and sample pre-concentration. For ease of OTP identification and structural elucidation, additional ozonation experiments were performed using individual solutions in pure water at 5 mg L −1 were also conducted.…”

Section: Ozonationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is clear from the studies that have identified these compounds in wastewater effluents and surface waters at the nanogram and in some cases, microgram per liter level, that they and many of their main human metabolites, are ubiquitous in the environment (Baker and Kasprzyk-Hordern, 2011;Bartelt-Hunt et al, 2009;Bijlsma et al, 2012Bijlsma et al, , 2013Castiglioni et al, 2006a;Gheorghe et al, 2008;González-Mariño et al, 2011;Hummel et al, 2006;Jones-Lepp et al, 2004;Kasprzyk-Hordern et al, 2009;Metcalfe et al, 2010;Pedrouzo et al, 2011a;Postigo et al, 2011;Zuccato et al, 2005). In fact, these compounds, like many other contaminants of emerging concern have been shown to be resistant to physicochemical and biological treatment at WWTPs and are therefore continuously introduced into the aquatic environment (Boleda et al, 2009;Bolong et al, 2009;Chiaia et al, 2008;Huerta-Fontela et al, 2008;Pal et al, 2013;Postigo et al, 2010;Valcárcel et al, 2012;Yargeau et al, 2013;Zuccato et al, 2008). These compounds have also been detected in surface waters in many countries (Boleda et al, 2011;Gonzalez-Marino et al, 2010;Martínez Bueno et al, 2011;Terzic et al, 2010;Valcárcel et al, 2012) and since illicit drugs have psychoactive properties, their presence in the aquatic environment raises concern (Huerta-Fontela et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ozonation of wastewater: Removal and transformation products of drugs of abuse

Rodayan

Segura

Yargeau

2014

Science of The Total Environment

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• The ozonation of six drugs of abuse and one human drug metabolite was carried out.• Drug removals vary between 3 and 50% for the ozone doses tested.• The main transformation products of the drugs of abuse were identified.• The most plausible structure of a transformation product of MDMA was elucidated. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o In this study amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), cocaine (COC), benzoylecgonine (BE), ketamine (KET) and oxycodone (OXY) in wastewater at concentrations of 100 μgL −1 were subjected to ozone to determine their removals as a function of ozone dose and to identify significant oxidation transformation products (OTPs) produced as a result of ozonation. A method based on high resolution mass spectrometry and differential analysis was used to facilitate and accelerate the identification and structural elucidation of the transformation products. The drug removal ranged from 3 to 50% depending on the complexity of the matrix and whether a mixture or individual drugs were ozonated. Both transient and persistent oxidation transformation products were identified for MDMA, COC and OXY and their chemical formulae were determined. Three possible structures of the persistent transformation product of MDMA (OTP-213) with chemical formula C 10 H 16 O 4 N, were determined based on MS n mass spectra and the most plausible structure (OTP-213a) was determined based on the chemistry of ozone. These results indicate that ozone is capable of removing drugs of abuse from wastewater to varying extents and that persistent transformation products are produced as a result of treatment.

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“…They enter the wastewater network as unaltered drugs and/or their active metabolites by human excretion after illegal consumption or by accidental or deliberate disposal from clandestine drug laboratories. Reference [109] critically reviews the occurrence and concentration of illicit drugs and their metabolites in different environments (e.g., wastewater, surface waters, groundwater, drinking water, and ambient air) and their potential impact on the ecosystem. There is limited published information available on the presence of illicit drugs in the environment, reports are available mainly from European countries, UK, USA, and Canada but there is a lack of information from the remainder of the world.…”

Section: Illicit Drugsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research trends on emerging environment pollutants – a review

Rykowska

Wasiak

2015

Open Chemistry

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Concern for the natural environment increasingly devotes more attention to growing potential hazards resulting from the release of various substances. Currently, one of the main problems associated with environmental pollution is the derivation of organic compounds from wastewater. Substances derived from sewage leaks into the environment in the form of a multicomponent mixtures often enhances the toxic effects caused by these compounds. While analyzing the reports in the literature of the last two decades it can be seen that substantial efforts are devoted to the determination of selected trace contaminants present in wastewater. Among the most marked there are endocrine disrupting compounds, residues of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, plastics and sunscreens. Recently, a new group of compounds joined the aforementioned contaminants, namely drugs, whose legality and availability is increasing every year. Exposure to these type of compounds, named in the literature as emerging contaminants (ECs), involves, among others, such effects as hormonal imbalance, reduction of the survivability of aquatic organisms and reproductive problems.This paper provides a review of the types of emerging organic groundwater contaminants (EGCs) which are beginning to be found in the natural environment in many countries all around the world.

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Illicit drugs and the environment — A review

Cited by 234 publications

References 79 publications

Fate and Removal of Pharmaceuticals and Illegal Drugs Present in Drinking Water and Wastewater

Fate and Removal of Pharmaceuticals and Illegal Drugs Present in Drinking Water and Wastewater

Ozonation of wastewater: Removal and transformation products of drugs of abuse

Research trends on emerging environment pollutants – a review

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