Antibiotics in the aquatic environment - A review - Part II

Pathology and genetics of tumours of the urinary system and male genital organs

https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/33344/4/A%20review%20on%20the%20occurrence%20of%20micropollutants%20in%20the%20aquatic%20environment%20and%20their%20fate%20and%20removal%20during%20wastewater%20treatment.pdf

A review on the occurrence of micropollutants in the aquatic environment and their fate and removal during wastewater treatment

A global perspective on the use, sales, exposure pathways, occurrence, fate and effects of veterinary antibiotics (VAs) in the environment

Ecotoxicology of human pharmaceuticals.

A listing of "priority pharmaceuticals" for human use in Italy resulted in the selection of 26 pharmaceuticals, belonging to 11 therapeutic classes. They were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, their occurrence was assessed in six sewage treatment plants (STPs), and the loads and the removal rates (RR) were studied. Total loads ranged from 1.5 to 4.5 g/day/1000 inhabitants in influents and 1.0 and 3.0 g/day/1000 inhabitants in effluents. Total RR in STPs were mostly lower than 40%. Pharmaceuticals could be divided into three groups according to their behavior in STPs: one group with RR higher in summer than in winter, one group with RR similar in summer and winter, and a last group not removed. Last, we studied the distribution and fate of residual pharmaceuticals in the surface waters receiving the effluents of the STPs and identified degradation and sorption as the major factors affecting attenuation. Ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole (antibiotics), atenolol (cardiovascular drug), ibuprofen (antiinflammatory), furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide (diuretics), ranitidine (gastrointestinal drug), and bezafibrate (lipid regulator) were the most abundant residual drugs, thus those of environmental concern.

Removal of Pharmaceuticals in Sewage Treatment Plants in Italy

Presence of therapeutic drugs in the environment

A survey was done in the river Po (Italy) to check for therapeutic drugs in the environment. A number of pharmaceuticals were selected for analysis on the basis of high consumption and excretion as parent compound in humans. Eight sampling stations along the rivers Po and Lambro made it possible to plot the patterns of contamination in a highly populated region with a large number of animal farms. Atenolol, lincomycin, erythromycin, clarithromycin, bezafibrate, and furosemide were present at all the sampling sites, and other drugs were found only in some. Concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 250 ng/L, and several drugs exceeded the trigger value (10 ng/L) suggested by recent documents from the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA), assessing environmental risks for these chemicals. The patterns of contamination showed differences among sub-basins which correlated with the presence of large human settlements and/or animal farms. The ratio of measured to predicted concentrations (MEC/...

Strategic Survey of Therapeutic Drugs in the Rivers Po and Lambro in Northern Italy

BackgroundThe social and medical problems of drug abuse are a matter of increasing global concern. To tackle drug abuse in changing scenarios, international drug agencies need fresh methods to moni...

Estimating community drug abuse by wastewater analysis.

Cocaine use seems to be increasing in some urban areas worldwide, but it is not straightforward to determine the real extent of this phenomenon. Trends in drug abuse are currently estimated indirectly, mainly by large-scale social, medical, and crime statistics that may be biased or too generic. We thus tested a more direct approach based on 'field' evidence of cocaine use by the general population. Cocaine and its main urinary metabolite (benzoylecgonine, BE) were measured by mass spectrometry in water samples collected from the River Po and urban waste water treatment plants of medium-size Italian cities. Drug concentration, water flow rate, and population at each site were used to estimate local cocaine consumption. We showed that cocaine and BE are present, and measurable, in surface waters of populated areas. The largest Italian river, the Po, with a five-million people catchment basin, steadily carried the equivalent of about 4 kg cocaine per day. This would imply an average daily use of at least 27 ± 5 doses (100 mg each) for every 1000 young adults, an estimate that greatly exceeds official national figures. Data from waste water treatment plants serving medium-size Italian cities were consistent with this figure. This paper shows for the first time that an illicit drug, cocaine, is present in the aquatic environment, namely untreated urban waste water and a major river. We used environmental cocaine levels for estimating collective consumption of the drug, an approach with the unique potential ability to monitor local drug abuse trends in real time, while preserving the anonymity of individuals. The method tested here – in principle extendable to other drugs of abuse – might be further refined to become a standardized, objective tool for monitoring drug abuse.

/pdf/cocaine-in-surface-waters-a-new-evidence-based-tool-to-sryu3ghadk.pdf

Roberto Fanelli

Papers

Removal of Pharmaceuticals in Sewage Treatment Plants in Italy

Presence of therapeutic drugs in the environment

Strategic Survey of Therapeutic Drugs in the Rivers Po and Lambro in Northern Italy

Estimating community drug abuse by wastewater analysis.

Cocaine in surface waters: a new evidence-based tool to monitor community drug abuse