A multicomponent snapshot of pharmaceuticals and pesticides in the river Meuse basin

Abstract

The river Meuse serves as a drinking-water source for more than 6 million people in France, Belgium, and The Netherlands. Pharmaceuticals and pesticides, both designed to be biologically active, are important classes of contaminants present in this river. The variation in the presence of pharmaceuticals in time and space in the Dutch part of the Meuse was studied using a multicomponent analytical method for pharmaceuticals combined with univariate and multivariate statistical analyses of the results. Trends and variation in time in the presence of pharmaceuticals were investigated in a dead-end side stream of the Meuse that serves as an intake point for the production of drinking water, and 93% of the selected compounds were detected. Highest concentrations were found for the antidiabetic metformin. Furthermore, a spatial snapshot of the presence of pharmaceuticals and pesticides was made along the river Meuse. Principal component analysis was successfully applied to reveal that wastewater-treatment plant effluent and water composition at the Belgian border were the main factors determining which compounds are found at different locations. The Dutch part of the river basin appeared responsible for approximately one-half of the loads of pharmaceuticals and pesticides discharged by the Meuse into the North Sea. The present study showed that multicomponent monitoring in combination with principal component analysis is a powerful tool to provide insight into contamination patterns in surface waters.

PPCPs in Jiulong River estuary (China): Spatiotemporal distributions, fate, and their use as chemical markers of wastewater

“…The NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, diclofenac, fenoprofen, and acetaminophen, were generally higher in winter and the wet season, particularly acetaminophen, with p<0.01. The higher NSAIDs in the estuary were also observed in the previous study [31], which might be due to the higher usage in the winter seasons [33]. Our previous study showed that lower PPCP concentrations were observed in the wet season in Jiulong River compared to the dry season and normal season due to the rainfall dilution [9].…”

SIMONI (Smart Integrated Monitoring) as a novel bioanalytical strategy for water quality assessment: Part II–field feasibility survey

“…The average recovery was 91 ± 14%. A detailed description of the method and its validation is given in Houtman et al . Detection limits using POCIS passive sampling were approximately 0.01 ng/L water.…”

“…The average recovery was 91 AE 14%. A detailed description of the method and its validation is given in Houtman et al [16]. Detection limits using POCIS passive Field feasibility bioanalytical SIMONI hazard identification Environ Toxicol Chem 36, 2017 sampling were approximately 0.01 ng/L water.…”

Occurrence and Distribution of Pharmaceuticals and their Transformation Products in Luxembourgish Surface Waters

“…Later studies of different parts of the Rhine and Meuse rivers reported similar pharmaceuticals 50,51 , however, in some studies the anti-diabetic drug metformin and its TP guanylurea were found to be the most abundant pharmaceutical in surface water samples. 50,52,53 While metformin was also quantified in this study, the median concentration only ranks 44 th over both years among the pharmaceuticals found. Higher levels of the anti-diabetic drug sitagliptin, th most abundant, were detected in Luxembourg.…”