The Fate and Impact of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Agricultural Soils Irrigated With Reclaimed Water

Abstract

Reclaimed water is an important source of irrigation and is widely used on agricultural soils throughout the world, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. However, concerns about the potential risks of this practice are rapidly increasing because reclaimed water may contain various organic pollutants such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Trace levels of PPCPs have been found in fields irrigated with reclaimed water, and continual infusion, along with bioaccumulation properties, may result in significant bio-uptake and PPCP contamination in agricultural soils. This review attempts to summarize the literature concerning the fate and behavior of PPCPs in agricultural soils, as well as their adverse effects on soil organisms (including microorganisms and fauna), crops, and even humans via dietary consumption. Strategies and potential technologies for degrading or removing PPCPs from soils are addressed, along with the irrigation strategies and agricultural practices for minimizing PPCP transfer to crops and groundwater. Based on this review, we conclude that the agricultural risks of PPCPs associated with reclaimed water irrigation could be controlled under certain agro-ecological conditions. We suggest developing agro-ecosystem specific practices and regulations for reclaimed water irrigation on the basis of a systematic assessment and modeling analysis of the fate, transport, accumulation, and transformation of PPCPs in soil-crop systems.

Pharmaceuticals in soils of lower income countries: Physico-chemical fate and risks from wastewater irrigation

“…The resulting Biotic Ligand Model of CDOM-metal interactions represented a major advance in metal toxicity standards and is now enshrined in EU and USA environmental quality standards (Comber et al, 2008;Aiken et al, 2011). Similar toxicity amelioration experiments of wastewater CDOM or soil solids with APIs have not been reported (Qin et al, 2015). Following the experience with metals, this is an area of study that clearly merits further effort from the scientific and regulatory communities.…”

“…8). Although soil concentrations of APIs in LLMIC are generally low, the dataset is restricted both spatially and temporally, as shown in Table 1, and so there is uncertainty regarding risk to humans and other biota (Qin et al, 2015). Furthermore, while PNECs are formulated for acute toxicity assessments, chronic effects may be more important, particularly as wastewater irrigation becomes more widespread.…”

“…While this type of calculation has been performed for high income countries (Qin et al, 2015), it is rare for LLMIC because data on API concentrations in irrigation water are not readily measured and/or available. In principle, the resulting maximum concentrations in soils can then be calculated, assuming zero losses (i.e.…”

What happens when pharmaceuticals meet colloids

“…Besides, the extractions of people contain PCs are flushed into waste water treatment plants (WWTPs). Through wastewater treatment processes, PCs can not be completely removed (Castiglioni et al 2006;Lishman et al 2006;Khetan and Collins 2007;Santos et al 2007), the removal efficiency vary in relation to the chemical properties of the PCs and the characteristics of WWTPs (Monteiro and Boxall 2010;Qin et al 2015). In a WWTP in Spain, the removal efficiencies ranged between 40 and 65 % for anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen and naproxen), 70-90 % for the fragrances (galaxolide and tonalide), 60 % for sulfamethoxazole and approximately 65 % for 17b-estradiol (Carballa et al 2004).…”

Fate and toxic effects of environmental stressors: environmental control

“…Agricultural application of reclaimed water, sludge, and animal wastes has brought PPCPs into the natural environment (Qin et al 2015a). Because of the biological activity of PPCPs even at low environmental concentrations, the potential risks of these substances to humans and organisms in ecosystems have caused great concern.…”