Occurrence of selected pharmaceuticals in water and sediment of Umgeni River, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Selected pharmaceuticals including antibiotics, antipyretics, a stimulant, an antiepileptic and an antipsychotic drug were determined in wastewater, surface water and sediment along the Umgeni River which is the main source of water to Durban City in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Samples were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS/MS) after clean up and pre-concentration by solid phase extraction (SPE). At the wastewater treatment plant outlet, the antipyretic ibuprofen was detected in concentrations up to 12.94 μg/L and 15.96 ng/g in wastewater and bio-solids, respectively. The antipsychotic clozapine was detected in concentrations up to 14.43 μg/L and 18.75 ng/g in wastewater and bio-solids, respectively. Other pharmaceuticals namely sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, erythromycin, metronidazole, trimethoprim, acetaminophen, caffeine and carbamazepine were also detected but in lower concentration compared to clozapine and ibuprofen (<10 μg/L or 10 ng/g). Clozapine and ibuprofen were detected at high concentrations in the surface water and sediment of Umgeni River. The highest concentration of clozapine (78.33 μg/L) was detected at the business park, while that for ibuprofen (62.0 μg/L) was detected at the point where a tributary, Msunduzi, joins Umgeni. Metronidazole was only detected in sediment, and caffeine (2243.52 ng/g) was detected at the highest concentration in the sediment at the blue lagoon sampling site. The antibiotic sulfamethoxazole was also detected in appreciable amounts up to 507.34 ng/g in the sediment at the Msunduzi tributary sampling site. The data collected implies that while insufficiently treated wastewater contributes to surface water contamination, human activities also contribute appreciably to the pharmaceutical loading of River Umgeni.

Simultaneous determination of naproxen, ibuprofen and diclofenac in wastewater using solid-phase extraction with high performance liquid chromatography

“…The spiking concentrations were selected based on the levels of target compounds reported previously in other South African WWTPs Madikizela and Chimuka, 2016;Matongo et al, 2015a). In such studies, the target compounds were detected in wastewater at low µg·L -1 levels.…”

“…Although there is enough evidence on the occurrence of NSAIDs in European water bodies (Carmona et al, 2014;Yu et al, 2006;Rodil et al, 2012;Togola and Budzinski, 2007) (Agunbiade and Moodley, 2014;Agunbiade and Moodley, 2016;Amdany et al, 2015;Gumbi et al, 2017;Madikizela and Chimuka, 2016;Matongo et al, 2015a;Matongo et al, 2015b). These published studies report the concentration of selected pharmaceuticals in aqueous samples collected from a few geographical areas of the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa.…”

“…These published studies report the concentration of selected pharmaceuticals in aqueous samples collected from a few geographical areas of the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. For example, most studies reported for KwaZulu-Natal Province focused on environmental pollution in the north of the city of Durban and in locations around Pietermaritzburg (Agunbiade and Moodley, 2014;Agunbiade and Moodley, 2016;Gumbi et al, 2017;Madikizela and Chimuka, 2016;Matongo et al, 2015a;Matongo et al, 2015b). Therefore, more work is required in order to assess the extent of water pollution in several regions of South Africa.…”

Complex interactions between climate change, sanitation, and groundwater quality: a case study from Ramotswa, Botswana

“…Caffeine's metabolite paraxanthine (1,7-dimethylxanthine) has also been used, but not as widely. Caffeine and/or paraxanthine have been measured in groundwater and surface water in Europe and the US (Buerge et al 2003;Glassmeyer et al 2005;Godfrey et al 2007;Hillebrand et al 2012;Reh et al 2013;Stuart et al 2014;Hillebrand et al 2015) and more recently in surface waters, urban groundwater, and roof-harvested rain water in South Africa (Matongo et al 2015;Sorensen et al 2015;Waso et al 2016;Wanda et al 2017;Rodríguez-Gil et al 2018). Denitrification is a naturally occurring microbial process that removes NO 3 − from groundwater.…”

Detection and antibiotic susceptibility of pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from the final effluent of two wastewater treatment Plants in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

“…Recent reports have highlighted the need for institutions to stem the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in the country and provide restrictive measures which can curtail the looming danger of acquiring CRE in South Africa (Coetzee and Brink, 2011). The presence of antibiotics in surface water and wastewater have been identified and data collected by Matongo et al, 2015 reported that while insufficiently treated wastewater contributes to surface water contamination, other human activities through improper use and disposal of pharmaceutical products and wastes also contribute appreciably to the pharmaceutical loading of rivers.…”