Occurrence of priority pollutants in WWTP effluents and Mediterranean coastal waters of Spain

A comprehensive study aimed at evaluating the occurrence, significance of concentrations and spatial distribution of priority pollutants (PPs) along the Comunidad Valenciana coastal waters (Spain) was carried out in order to fulfil the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Additionally, PP concentrations were also analysed in the effluent of 28 WWTPs distributed along the studied area. In coastal waters 36 organic pollutants of the 71 analysed, including 26 PPs were detected although many of them with low frequency of occurrence. Only 13 compounds, which belong to four different classes (VOCs, organochlorinated pesticides, phthalates and tributyltin compounds (TBT)) showed a frequency of occurrence above 20% in coastal waters. In the results obtained until now, octylphenol, pentachlorobenzene, DEHP and TBT exceeded the annual average concentration (EQS-AAC), and only TBT surpassed the maximum allowable concentration (EQS-MAC). The most frequent contaminants determined in coastal waters were also present in WWTP effluents. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Financial support from Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, Agua, Urbanismo y Vivienda de la Generalitat Valenciana (Application of Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC on endocrine disruptors and priority substances in coastal areas in the Comunidad Valenciana) is gratefully acknowledged.Martí Ortega, N.; Aguado García, D.; Segovia Martínez, L.; Bouzas Blanco, A.; Seco Torrecillas, A. (2011). Occurrence of priority pollutants in WWTP effluents and Mediterranean coastal waters of Spain. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 62(3):615-625. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.01.010S61562562

Impact of anti-inflammatories, beta-blockers and antibiotics on leaf litter breakdown in freshwaters

Pharmaceuticals are now recognised as important pollutants in freshwater systems but a shortcoming of effects studies is that they have focused on structural endpoints and impacts on ecosystem functioning are poorly understood. The decomposition of organic matter is an important functional process in aquatic systems and it is known that this can be impacted by the presence of pollutants. Previous studies on leaf litter breakdown have only considered the effects of antibiotics and not other groups of drugs though. The current study investigated the effects of anti-inflammatories, a beta-blocker and an antibiotic on microbially mediated breakdown of leaf litter in the laboratory, colonisation of leaf packs by benthic macroinvertebrates when placed in a stream and shredding of leaf litter by these organisms. Furthermore, the effects of single compounds relative to their mixture were assessed. It was found that exposure of leaf litter to the study compounds did not influence its breakdown by microbes in the laboratory or macroinvertebrates in a stream. Exposure of leaf litter to pharmaceuticals also had no effect on its colonisation by macroinvertebrates in this study. Many unknowns remain, however, and further studies of the effects of pharmaceuticals on structural and functional endpoints are needed to aid aquatic conservation

The importance of over-the-counter-sales and product format in the environmental exposure assessment of active pharmaceutical ingredients

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Over-the-Counter Monocyclic Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Environment—Sources, Risks, Biodegradation

Recently, the increased use of monocyclic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has resulted in their presence in the environment. This may have potential negative effects on living organisms. The biotransformation mechanisms of monocyclic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the human body and in other mammals occur by hydroxylation and conjugation with glycine or glucuronic acid. Biotransformation/biodegradation of monocyclic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the environment may be caused by fungal or bacterial microorganisms. Salicylic acid derivatives are degraded by catechol or gentisate as intermediates which are cleaved by dioxygenases. The key intermediate of the paracetamol degradation pathways is hydroquinone. Sometimes, after hydrolysis of this drug, 4- aminophenol is formed, which is a dead-end metabolite. Ibuprofen is metabolized by hydroxylation or activation with CoA, resulting in the formation of isobutylocatechol. The aim of this work is to attempt to summarize the knowledge about environmental risk connected with the presence of over-the-counter antiinflammatory drugs, their sources and the biotransformation and/or biodegradation pathways of these drugs

Determination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in environmental samples by chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a group of pharmaceutical compounds widely used in human health care and often found in the aquatic environment, with their metabolites. After an introduction that describes the general problem of drug contamination, the properties of NSAIDs, and environmental risk assessment, this review surveys the chromatographic and electrophoretic methods of analysis in use today for monitoring the most important representatives of this pharmaceutical class in different environmental samples