Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in archived U.S. biosolids from the 2001 EPA national sewage sludge survey

Abstract

In response to the U.S. National Academies' call for a better assessment of chemical pollutants contained in the approximately 6.9 million dry tons of digested municipal sludge produced annually in the United States, the mean concentration of 72 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP) were determined in 110 biosolids samples collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its 2001 National Sewage Sludge Survey. Composite samples of archived biosolids, collected at 94 U.S. wastewater treatment plants from 32 states and the District of Columbia, were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry using EPA Method 1694. Thirtyeight (54%) of the 72 analytes were detected in at least one composite sample at concentrations ranging from 0.002 to 48 mg kg −1 dry weight. Triclocarban and triclosan were the most abundant analytes with mean concentrations of 36 ± 8 and 12.6 ± 3.8 mg kg −1 (n = 5), respectively, accounting for 65% of the total PPCP mass found. The loading to U.S. soils from nationwide biosolids recycling was estimated at 210-250 metric tons per year for the sum of the 72 PPCPs investigated. The results of this nationwide reconnaissance of PPCPs in archived U.S. biosolids mirror in contaminant occurrences, frequencies and concentrations, those reported by the U.S. EPA for samples collected in 2006/07. This demonstrates that PPCP releases in U.S. biosolids have been ongoing for many years and the most abundant PPCPs appear to show limited fluctuations in mass over time when assessed on a nationwide basis. The here demonstrated use of five mega composite samples holds promise for conducting cost-effective, routine monitoring on a regional basis.

Field dissipation and risk assessment of typical personal care products TCC, TCS, AHTN and HHCB in biosolid-amended soils

“…Compared to the levels reported worldwide, the concentrations of these four target compounds were in the lower end of the concentration ranges reported (Table 3). The highest concentrations for TCC and TCS were reported in the biosolids from the United States (48,100 μg/kg and 19,700 μg/kg) (McClellan and Halden, 2010;Snyder et al, 2010a). The highest concentrations for AHTN and HHCB were found in the biosolids from Guangzhou, China (169,000 μg/kg and 704,000 μg/kg) (Zeng et al, 2005), which are 10 times those from the present study.…”

Occurrence of organic microcontaminants in the wastewater treatment process. A mini review

“…Individuals may add PPCPs to the environment through waste excretion or bathing, as well as by directly disposing of unused medications into septic tanks, sewers, or trash containers. Their presence has been identified and quantified in WWTP effluents [14], surface waters [15], drinking water [150], groundwater [151], biosolids [152], agricultural manures [153] and biota [154]. With hundreds of different PPCPs in the market (see Table 1), WWTPs represent a key potential point source to the aquatic environment, but at the same time a major opportunity for centralised removal processes.…”

Removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products from wastewater using algae-based technologies: a review

“…Therefore, many previous research efforts have been focused on characterizing the occurrence and fate of PPCPs in WWTPs (Esplugas et al 2007;Luo et al 2014;Ternes et al 2004;Tiwari et al 2017). The removal efficiency has been found to be compound specific, many PPCPs were poorly removed in WWTPs using conventional activated sludge (CAS) treatment processes, and considerable amount of PPCPs remained in effluent and/or biosolids (McClellan and Halden 2010;Melvin and Leusch 2016;Miège et al 2009). Therefore, PPCP residues can be introduced into the environment following the discharge of effluent and land application of biosolids.…”