Spatial variation in the detection rates of frequently studied pharmaceuticals in Asian, European and North American rivers

Jameel, Yusuf; Valle, Denis; Kay, Paul

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137947

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…In fact, these are the most ubiquitous compounds detected in wastewaters from senior residences. Our empirical data coincides with previous studies indicating that antipsychotics, laxatives, benzodiazepines and antiplatelets among others are highly consumed by the elderly [ 11 , 19 ] and have been detected in river waters with quite high frequency [ 8 , 17 , 18 , 20 ].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

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Pharmaceutical Residues in Senior Residences Wastewaters: High Loads, Emerging Risks

2021

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Senior residences are health-care facilities that are socially-accepted for the assistance of elderly people. Since the elderly account for the foremost pharmaceutical-consuming age-group, senior residences become a hot-spot for pharmaceuticals discharge to the sewage grid. The objectives of the present study were to identify the bioactive pharmaceuticals in sewage waters from senior residences and to propose an on-site monitoring strategy for their control. In this study, we have studied the presence of 43 pharmaceuticals highly consumed by the elderly population in six senior residences located in Spain, France and Portugal. Wastewater was sampled directly from the water-chest in each residence during different times of the day throughout one week. Main compounds detected at the high µg L−1 level were analgesic and antipyretic drugs such as acetylsalicylic acid, paracetamol, ibuprofen; antibiotics such as amoxicillin and sulfamethoxazole; compounds for the treatment of neuropathies as gabapentin, trazodone and valsartan; pharmaceuticals for the treatment of diabetes (vildagliptin) and anticancer drugs. The daily loads discharged were estimated and their fate was evaluated. The final objective of this study is to highlight the need to implement at-source waste water treatment procedures in senior residences, which have been identified as a point source pollution of pharmaceuticals.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The overwhelming problem of pharmaceutical pollution is especially relevant in urban areas suffering from water scarcity [ 8 ]. This type of pollution is exacerbated due to the increased consumption of drugs as the population ages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmaceutical Residues in Senior Residences Wastewaters: High Loads, Emerging Risks

2021

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“…In the past years, sensitive mass spectrometry methods have enabled the detection of organic pollutants at very low concentrations in nearly all water bodies globally (Jameel et al ., 2020). These organic micropollutants (OMPs) include diverse chemicals such as pharmaceutical compounds, and they have detrimental effects on the development, behaviour and stress response of aquatic organisms (Gauthier and Vijayan, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of concentration and hydraulic reaction time on the removal of pharmaceutical compounds in a membrane bioreactor inoculated with activated sludge

Rios‐Miguel

Jetten

Welte

2021

Microbial Biotechnology

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Pharmaceuticals are often not fully removed in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and are thus being detected at trace levels in water bodies all over the world posing a risk to numerous organisms. These organic micropollutants (OMPs) reach WWTPs at concentrations sometimes too low to serve as growth substrate for microorganisms; thus, co-metabolism is thought to be the main conversion mechanism. In this study, the microbial removal of six pharmaceuticals was investigated in a membrane bioreactor at increasing concentrations (4-800 nM) of the compounds and using three different hydraulic retention times (HRT; 1, 3.5 and 5 days). The bioreactor was inoculated with activated sludge from a municipal WWTP and fed with ammonium, acetate and methanol as main growth substrates to mimic co-metabolism. Each pharmaceutical had a different average removal efficiency: acetaminophen (100%) > fluoxetine (50%) > metoprolol (25%) > diclofenac (20%) > metformin (15%) > carbamazepine (10%). Higher pharmaceutical influent concentrations proportionally increased the removal rate of each compound, but surprisingly not the removal percentage. Furthermore, only metformin removal improved to 80-100% when HRT or biomass concentration was increased. Microbial community changes were followed with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing in response to the increment of pharmaceutical concentration: Nitrospirae and Planctomycetes 16S rRNA relative gene abundance decreased, whereas Acidobacteria and Bacteroidetes increased. Remarkably, the Dokdonella genus, previously implicated in acetaminophen metabolism, showed a 30-fold increase in abundance at the highest concentration of pharmaceuticals applied. Taken together, these results suggest that the incomplete removal of most pharmaceutical compounds in WWTPs is dependent on neither concentration nor reaction time. Accordingly, we propose a chemical equilibrium or a growth substrate limitation as the responsible mechanisms of the incomplete removal. Finally, Dokdonella could be the main acetaminophen degrader under activated sludge conditions, and non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals might still be toxic to relevant WWTP bacteria.

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“…Due to psychiatric drugs are more difficult to remove during WWTPs bioaccumulation in surface waters of these drugs has an increasing environmental concern ( Dalecka et al, 2021 ). The presence of psychiatric drugs in surface waters has been extensively studied in different countries across Asia, Europe, and America ( Jameel et al, 2020 ). For example, Bangladesh ( Hossain et al, 2018 ), Sri Lanka and India ( Guruge et al, 2019 ) studies that confirmed the presence of psychiatric drugs like carbamazepine at concentrations in the other of ng/L.…”

Section: Environmental Concern Of Psychiatric Drugsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental concerns and bioaccumulation of psychiatric drugs in water bodies – Conventional versus biocatalytic systems of mitigation

Martínez

Melchor-Martínez

González-González

et al. 2023

Environmental Research

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Spatial variation in the detection rates of frequently studied pharmaceuticals in Asian, European and North American rivers

Cited by 16 publications

References 80 publications

Pharmaceutical Residues in Senior Residences Wastewaters: High Loads, Emerging Risks

Pharmaceutical Residues in Senior Residences Wastewaters: High Loads, Emerging Risks

Effect of concentration and hydraulic reaction time on the removal of pharmaceutical compounds in a membrane bioreactor inoculated with activated sludge

Environmental concerns and bioaccumulation of psychiatric drugs in water bodies – Conventional versus biocatalytic systems of mitigation

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