Distribution, fate, and risk assessment of antibiotics in five wastewater treatment plants in Shanghai, China

Abstract

The project studied the occurrence, fate, and seasonal variation of 14 antibiotics, from five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Shanghai. The results indicated that ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, and oxytetracycline were the predominant antibiotics, with maximum concentrations of 1208.20, 959.13, and 564.30 ng/L in influents, while 916.88, 106.60, and 337.81 ng/L in effluents, respectively. The level of antibiotics in WWTPs obviously varied with seasonal changes, and higher detectable frequencies and concentrations were found in winter. The daily mass loads per capita of amoxicillin, enrofloxacin, and oxytetracycline in the study were all higher than those in other regions/countries, such as Hong Kong, Australia, and Italy. The elimination of antibiotics through these WWTPs was incomplete, and a wide range of removal efficiencies during the different treatment process and seasons were observed (-500.56 to 100 % in winter and -124.24 to 94.21 % in summer). Sulfonamides were relatively easy to be removed in WWTPs and the ultraviolet (UV) process can effectively improve the removal efficiency. Risk assessment of antibiotics in effluents was estimated. Only AMOX's hazard quotient (HQ) was higher than 0.01. Even though the environmental risks in the study were estimated to be low, the potential negative effects on aquatic ecosystems should call our attention as continually discharge in the long term.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a Mediterranean coastal wetland: Impact of anthropogenic and spatial factors and environmental risk assessment

“…for most wastewater in Spain and other parts of the world (Martín et al, 2011;Wu et al, 2016). In fact, the occurrence of these compounds in influent water in Europe, America and Asia has been reported rarely and always at low concentrations (< 107 ngL -1 ) (Kuster et al, 2008;Tran et al, 2018;Zhang et al, 2017).…”

Isolation, Screening, and Characterization of Antibiotic-Degrading Bacteria for Penicillin V Potassium (PVK) from Soil on a Pig Farm

“…Research has shown that the spread of multidrug resistant bacterial strains and their potential adverse effects on animals and environment are closely associated with the abuse of antibiotics [6,7]. Numerous studies have reported the detection of antibiotics in coastal water and wastewater at concentrations from μg/L to mg/L levels [8]. Furthermore, antibiotic resistant genes harbored by mobile genetic elements have proven to be transferred between bacteria and the environment [9,10].…”

Co‐occurrence characteristics of antibiotics and estrogens and their relationships in a lake system affected by wastewater

“…Levofloxacin, SMZ, and 17α‐E2 were the predominant components in the treated sewage, with average concentrations of 15.2 ± 11.2, 3.60 ± 4.29, and 3.52 ± 0.94 ng L −1 , respectively. High LVX and SMZ concentrations were also detected in the effluent of STPs in Japan, Beijing, Chongqing, and Shanghai (Ghosh, Okuda, Yamashita, & Tanaka, 2009; Wu et al., 2016; Yan et al., 2014). Estrogen concentrations in the effluent in this work were lower than those found in North America, Europe, and Asia (Adeel, Song, Wang, Francis, & Yang, 2017).…”