Variations in bioconcentration of human pharmaceuticals from sewage effluents into fish blood plasma

Brown, Jeffrey N.; Paxéus, Nicklas; Förlin, Lars; Larsson, D. G. Joakim

doi:10.1016/j.etap.2007.06.005

Cited by 143 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…It has been widely reported that these compounds are continuously released into the environment, [22][23][24] and bioaccumulate in wild-caught fish populations at concentrations of nanograms per gram. 25,26 Huerta et al 25 showed that diclofenac and carbamazepine were the most highly bioaccumulated at 18.8 ng/g in fish liver. Current regulations do not specify that they should be monitored in our water supplies or in sewage effluents (South African National Drinking Water Standard (SANS) 241: 2015), even though Patterton's study 11 demonstrated their presence in South African tap water.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Desalination and seawater quality at Green Point, Cape Town: A study on the effects of marine sewage outfalls (with corrigendum)

Petrik¹,

Green²,

Abegunde³

et al. 2017

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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This paper presents our collection methods, laboratory protocols and findings in respect of sewage pollution affecting seawater and marine organisms in Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, then moves to consider their implications for the governance of urban water as well as sewage treatment and desalination. A series of seawater samples, collected from approximately 500 m to 1500 m offshore, in rock pools at low tide near Granger Bay, and at a depth under beach sand of 300-400 mm, were investigated for the presence of bacteriological load indicator organisms including Escherichia coli and Enterococcus bacteria. A second series of samples comprised limpets (Patella vulgata), mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), sea urchins (Tripneustes ventricosus), starfish (Fromia monilis), sea snails (Tegula funebralis) and seaweed (Ulva lactuca), collected in rock pools at low tide near Granger Bay, and sediment from wet beach sand and where the organisms were found, close to the sites of a proposed desalination plant and a number of recreational beaches. Intermittently high levels of microbial pollution were noted, and 15 pharmaceutical and common household chemicals were identified and quantified in the background seawater and bioaccumulated in marine organisms. These indicator microbes and chemicals point to the probable presence of pathogens, and literally thousands of chemicals of emerging concern in the seawater. Their bioaccumulation potential is demonstrated.In respect of proposed desalination, the findings indicate that desalinated seawater must be subjected to treatment protocols capable of removing both bacterial loads and organic chemical compounds. The terms of reference for desalination plants must specify adequate testing and monitoring of chemical compounds as well as microorganisms in the intake and recovered water. Drinking water supplied by the proposed seawater desalination plants should be carefully tested for its toxicity.In respect of water management, our findings suggest the need for the City of Cape Town to move to an integrated water and sewage management plan that treats urban water, including seawater, as a circulating system that is integral to the health of the City, and which excludes marine outfalls.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Desalination and seawater quality at Green Point, Cape Town: A study on the effects of marine sewage outfalls (with corrigendum)

Petrik¹,

Green²,

Abegunde³

et al. 2017

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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show abstract

“…As well as being detected in surface waters, pharmaceuticals have been demonstrated to bioaccumulate in fish [9][10][11]. The pharmacokinetic properties and partitioning behavior of pharmaceuticals are often well understood because of requirements for drug development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquatic toxicity of sertraline to Pimephales promelas at environmentally relevant surface water pH

Valenti

Perez‐Hurtado

Chambliss

et al. 2009

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

129

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Abstract-Researchers recognize that ionization state may influence the biological activity of weak acids and bases. Dissociation in aqueous solutions is controlled by the pK a of a compound and the pH of the matrix. Because many pharmaceuticals are implicitly designed as ionizable compounds, site-specific variability in pH of receiving waters may introduce uncertainty to ecological risk assessments. The present study employed 48-h and 7-d toxicity tests with Pimephales promelas exposed to the model weak base pharmaceutical sertraline over a gradient of environmentally relevant surface water pHs. The 48-h experiments were completed in triplicate, and the average lethal concentration values were 647, 205, and 72 mg/L sertraline at pH 6.5, 7.5, and 8.5, respectively. Survivorship, growth, and feeding rate (a nontraditional endpoint linked by other researchers to sertraline's specific mode of action) were monitored during the 7-d experiment. Adverse effects were more pronounced when individuals were exposed to sertraline at pH 8.5 compared to pH 7.5 and 6.5. The pH-dependent toxicological relationships from these studies were related to in-stream pH data for two streams in the Brazos River basin of central Texas, USA. This predictive approach was taken because of the scarcity of environmental analytical data for sertraline. The results of this study emphasized temporal variability associated with in-stream pH linked to seasonal differences within and between these spatially related systems. Relating site-specific pH variability of surface waters to ionization state may allow researchers to reduce uncertainty during ecological risk assessment of pharmaceuticals by improving estimates of biological effects associated with exposure.

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“…A number of key questions and uncertainties will be investigated in this Theme Issue: first, we explore exposures to wildlife occupying a range of ecosystems; most pharmaceuticals are emitted continuously to the environment (figure 1), dispersing within aquatic and terrestrial habitats and in some cases bioaccumulating in ecological food chains, potentially affecting organisms at higher trophic levels [17][18][19]. Second, several papers explore the nature of pharmaceuticals as contaminants and how we can prioritize research based on the potential risk they pose.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medicating the environment: assessing risks of pharmaceuticals to wildlife and ecosystems

Arnold

Brown

Ankley

et al. 2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

338

184

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Global pharmaceutical consumption is rising with the growing and ageing human population and more intensive food production. Recent studies have revealed pharmaceutical residues in a wide range of ecosystems and organisms. Environmental concentrations are often low, but pharmaceuticals typically are designed to have biological effects at low doses, acting on physiological systems that can be evolutionarily conserved across taxa. This Theme Issue introduces the latest research investigating the risks of environmentally relevant concentrations of pharmaceuticals to vertebrate wildlife. We take a holistic, global view of environmental exposure to pharmaceuticals encompassing terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems in high- and low-income countries. Based on both field and laboratory data, the evidence for and relevance of changes to physiology and behaviour, in addition to mortality and reproductive effects, are examined in terms of the population- and community-level consequences of pharmaceutical exposure on wildlife. Studies on uptake, trophic transfer and indirect effects of pharmaceuticals acting via food webs are presented. Given the logistical and ethical complexities of research in this area, several papers focus on techniques for prioritizing which compounds are most likely to harm wildlife and how modelling approaches can make predictions about the bioavailability, metabolism and toxicity of pharmaceuticals in non-target species. This Theme Issue aims to help clarify the uncertainties, highlight opportunities and inform ongoing scientific and policy debates on the impacts of pharmaceuticals in the environment.

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Variations in bioconcentration of human pharmaceuticals from sewage effluents into fish blood plasma

Cited by 143 publications

References 37 publications

Desalination and seawater quality at Green Point, Cape Town: A study on the effects of marine sewage outfalls (with corrigendum)

Desalination and seawater quality at Green Point, Cape Town: A study on the effects of marine sewage outfalls (with corrigendum)

Aquatic toxicity of sertraline to Pimephales promelas at environmentally relevant surface water pH

Medicating the environment: assessing risks of pharmaceuticals to wildlife and ecosystems

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