Preliminary Review of Sources, Fate, Analytical Challenges and Regulatory Status of Emerging Organic Contaminants in Aquatic Environments in Selected African Countries

Abstract

Emerging contaminants (ECs) have received great attention in developed countries and as such some of them have received priority screening and regulatory guidelines proposed. However, due to the requirements of highly sensitive and sophisticated analytical equipment, research on this subject in developing countries in Africa are very scarce. We carried out a review of published data from southern and western African region in order to: (1) highlight the environmental concentrations of ECs in West and Southern Africa and bring to light the analytical challenges in order to elicit discussions on solutions, (2) analyse the state of science regarding ECs in African environment and summarise available data for comparative analysis. Generally, the study reveals that in spite of the scanty data reported, levels of ECs are in the upper range of global concentrations. Monitoring data are increasing yearly, although at a very slow rate. Environmentally relevant levels reported are high enough to cause potential risks. Priority monitoring of phenolic endocrine disrupting compounds, phthalate esters, triclosan, triclocarban and some pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) like ibuprofen are recommended due to high frequency of detection. Understudied compounds should be prioritized for toxicity studies, monitoring and potential risk evaluation in order to increase knowledge on their sources and fate for proper management.

Trace Detection and Quantitation of Antibiotics in a South African Stream Receiving Wastewater Effluents and Municipal Dumpsite Leachates

“…In addition, various other point sources of pharmaceuticals common in developing countries such as dumpsites, septic tank leakage, landfill leachates, and WWTP sludge used for fertilizer have been reported in literature (Madikizela et al, 2017;Philip et al, 2018;Patel et al, 2019). As a result, much higher concentrations of pharmaceuticals have been reported for Africa compared to Europe (Archer et al, 2017;Faleye et al, 2018;Fekadu et al, 2019;Offiong et al, 2019).…”

Drinking Water Systems as a Cocktail of Emerging Organic Contaminants: Occurrence, Public Health Risks, and Research Needs

“…The few studies that have been conducted, however, have shown that there is a serious problem with EOCs in drinking water sources in Africa and other LICs (Table 1). Among other factors, the lack of highly sensitive and sophisticated analytical equipment necessary for such studies may be the cause of the limited data on the occurrence of EOCs in DWS in Africa and other LICs [22]. The equipment is also expensive and requires specialists to operate and maintain, which is a barrier to their availability in many LICs [23].…”

COVID-19 drugs in aquatic systems: a review

“…As can be observed in Table 1, many of the highlighted drugs were studied in simulated conditions and natural attenuation process or present conventional methods were mostly ineffective for the treatment or removal. Data on their occurrence and fate in surface run-off, dumpsite leachates, groundwater, and storm water, which are important for lowincome countries where wastewater treatment plants are often not used or are inefficient are sparse or non-existent (Offiong et al 2019). Studies on the photodegradation and other transformation products of pharmaceutically active compounds are important to elucidate their fate in environmental matrices (Boreen et al 2003;Li et al 2015).…”