Long-Term Study of Antibiotic Presence in Ebro River Basin (Spain): Identification of the Emission Sources

Abstract

Water monitoring is key to determining the presence of potentially hazardous substances related to urban activities and intensive farming. This research aimed to perform a long-term (four years) quantitative monitoring of selected antibiotics (azithromycin, enrofloxacin, trimethoprim and sulfadiazine) both in rivers and wastewaters belonging to the Ebro River basin (North of Spain). The target antibiotics were chosen on the basis of a preliminary multispecies screening. The analysis of the antibiotics was carried out by LC-MS/MS on wastewater-treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, effluents of a slaughterhouse and hospital, rivers downstream and upstream of these WWTPs, and rivers close to extensive farming areas. The ANOVA test was performed to study the significant differences between the points exposed to concrete emission sources and antibiotic concentration. The monitoring, carried out from 2018 to 2020, has been essential to illustrating the presence of the most abundant antibiotics that were detected in the Ebro River basin. Enrofloxacin has appeared in river waters in significant concentrations, especially near intensive farming, meanwhile azithromycin has been frequently detected in wastewaters.

The Impact of Soil and Water Pollutants Released from Poultry Farming on the Growth and Development of Two Plant Species

“…Ciprofloxacin is the most commonly detected antibiotic in European groundwater, often found in high concentrations near pig farms and manure-spreading sites [66]. In fact, farms have been identified as the main source of ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin in water [67]. Ciprofloxacin is highly soluble in water and mobile due to its hydrophilic nature.…”

Pilot Plant Approach Combining Photocatalysis and Adsorption for Antibiotics Removal from Slaughterhouse and Urban Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents

“…However, their increasing use and misuse has led to the generation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and environmental pollution (Chen et al, 2021;Cacace et al, 2019). Antibiotics and their degradation products have been frequently detected in aquatic environments, including rivers, lakes, and wastewater treatment plants, posing significant threats to aquatic ecosystems and public health (Barbosa et al, 2016; POCTEFA territory (Moles et al, 2022;López-Serna et al, 2011). In this specific region, which has significant intensive farming (Moles et al, 2022), the highest frequency of detection in wastewater has been observed for azithromycin (detected in 92% of the samples), sulfamethoxazole (92%), trimethoprim (75%), ciprofloxacin (75%), and enrofloxacin (61%) (Moles et al, 2022).…”

Ultrafiltration Membranes System: A Proposal to Remove Emerging Pollutants in Urban Wastewater

“…For the first issue, the scientific community is required. In this regard, in recent years, many authors [8][9][10] have developed specific analytical methodologies for the presence of certain CECs in environmental matrices, as well as guidelines for risk analysis in different environmental compartments, life cycle studies, etc.…”