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Nasri E, de la Vega ACS, Martí CB, Ben Mansour H, Diaz-Cruz MS. Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Tunisian hospital wastewater: occurrence and environmental risk. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2024; 31:2716-2731. [PMID: 38063970 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-31220-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Despite concerns about the potential risk associated with the environmental occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), few studies address the emissions of hospitals to aquatic compartments. We examined within a 3-month sampling period the occurrence and environmental risk of PPCPs in seven Tunisian hospital wastewaters. From personal care products, UV filters, main metabolites, and benzotriazoles were quantified, with benzophenone 3 (oxybenzone, BP3) and benzotriazole (BZT) the most frequently found (71%) at median concentrations in the range 2.43 ± 0.87 ngL-1-64.05 ± 6.82 ngL-1 for BP3 and 51.67 ± 1.67 ngL-1-254 ± 9.9 ngL-1 for BZT. High concentrations were also found for 4-hydroxybenzophenone (4HB) (221 ± 6.22 ngL-1), one of the main metabolites of BP3. The antibiotics ofloxacin and trimethoprim, the anti-inflammatory acetaminophen, the antiepileptic carbamazepine, and the stimulant caffeine were present in all the wastewaters. The highest median concentration corresponded to acetaminophen, with 1240 ± 94 mgL-1 in Tunis Hospital, followed by ofloxacin with 78850 ± 39 μgL-1 in Sousse Hospital. For ecotoxicity assessment, acute toxicity was observed for Daphnia magna and Vibrio fischeri. The toxicity data were used in a hazard quotient (HQ) approach to evaluate the risk posed by the target PPCPs to aquatic organisms. The calculated HQs revealed that marbofloxacin (234 for V. fischeri), enrofloxacin (121 for D. magna), and BZT (82.2 for D. magna and 83.7 for V. fischeri) posed the highest risk, concluding that potential risk exists toward aquatic microorganisms. This study constitutes the first monitoring of UV filters in Tunisian hospital effluents and provides occurrence and toxicity data of PPCPs for reference in further surveys in the country.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emna Nasri
- Research Unit of Analysis and Process Applied to the Environmental e APAE Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology Mahdia, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia
- Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bio-Monitoring of the Environment and Oasis Ecosystems, Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences of Gafsa, Sidi Ahmed Zarroug University Campus, 2112, Gafsa, Tunisia
| | - Ana Cristina Soler de la Vega
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlos Barata Martí
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Hedi Ben Mansour
- Research Unit of Analysis and Process Applied to the Environmental e APAE Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology Mahdia, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia
| | - Maria Silvia Diaz-Cruz
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034, Barcelona, Spain.
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Husain Khan A, Abdul Aziz H, Palaniandy P, Naushad M, Cevik E, Zahmatkesh S. Pharmaceutical residues in the ecosystem: Antibiotic resistance, health impacts, and removal techniques. Chemosphere 2023; 339:139647. [PMID: 37516325 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023]
Abstract
Hospital wastewater has emerged as a major category of environmental pollutants over the past two decades, but its prevalence in freshwater is less well documented than other types of contaminants. Due to compound complexity and improper operations, conventional treatment is unable to remove pharmaceuticals from hospital wastewater. Advanced treatment technologies may eliminate pharmaceuticals, but there are still concerns about cost and energy use. There should be a legal and regulatory framework in place to control the flow of hospital wastewater. Here, we review the latest scientific knowledge regarding effective pharmaceutical cleanup strategies and treatment procedures to achieve that goal. Successful treatment techniques are also highlighted, such as pre-treatment or on-site facilities that control hospital wastewater where it is used in hospitals. Due to the prioritization, the regulatory agencies will be able to assess and monitor the concentration of pharmaceutical residues in groundwater, surface water, and drinking water. Based on the data obtained, the conventional WWTPs remove 10-60% of pharmaceutical residues. However, most PhACs are eliminated during the secondary or advanced therapy stages, and an overall elimination rate higher than 90% can be achieved. This review also highlights and compares the suitability of currently used treatment technologies and identifies the merits and demerits of each technology to upgrade the system to tackle future challenges. For this reason, pharmaceutical compound rankings in regulatory agencies should be the subject of prospective studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Afzal Husain Khan
- School of Civil Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
| | - Hamidi Abdul Aziz
- School of Civil Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia; Solid Waste Management Cluster, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
| | - Puganeshwary Palaniandy
- School of Civil Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Mu Naushad
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Emre Cevik
- Bioenergy Research Unit, Department of Biophysics, Institute for Research and Medical Consultations, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, 1982, PO Box:1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sasan Zahmatkesh
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingenieríay Ciencias, Puebla, Mexico.
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Becker RW, Cardoso RM, Dallegrave A, Ruiz-Padillo A, Sirtori C. Quantification of pharmaceuticals in hospital effluent: Weighted ranking of environmental risk using a fuzzy hybrid multicriteria method. Chemosphere 2023; 338:139368. [PMID: 37406941 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
An analytical method for quantification of seventeen pharmaceuticals and one metabolite was validated and applied in the analysis of hospital effluent samples. Two different sampling strategies were used: seasonal sampling, with 7 samples collected bimonthly; and hourly sampling, with 12 samples collected during 12 h. Thus, the variability was both seasonal and within the same day. High variability was observed in the measured concentrations of the pharmaceuticals and the metabolite. The quantification method, performed using weighted linear regression model, demonstrated results of average concentrations in seasonal samples ranged between 0.19 μgL-1 (carbamazepine) and higher than 61.56 μgL-1 (acetaminophen), while the hourly samples showed average concentrations between 0.07 μgL-1 (diazepam) and higher than 54.91 μgL-1 (acetaminophen). It is described as higher because the maximum concentration of the calibration curve took into account the dilution factor provided by DLLME. The diurnal results showed a trend towards higher concentrations in the first and last hours of sampling. The risk quotient (RQ) was calculated using organisms from three different trophic levels, for all the analytes quantified in the samples. Additionally, in order to understand the level of importance of each RQ, an expert panel was established, with contributions from 23 specialists in the area. The results were analyzed using a hybrid decision-making approach based on a Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method, in order to rank the compounds by environmental risk priority. The compounds of greatest concern were losartan, acetaminophen, 4-aminoantipyrine, sulfamethoxazole, and metoclopramide. Comparison of the environmental risk priority ranking with the potential human health risk was performed by applying the same multicriteria approach, with the prediction of endpoints using in silico (Q)SAR models. The results obtained suggested that sulfamethoxazole and acetaminophen were the most important analytes to be considered for monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel Wielens Becker
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Renata Martins Cardoso
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Alexsandro Dallegrave
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | | | - Carla Sirtori
- Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
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Iliopoulou A, Arvaniti OS, Deligiannis M, Gatidou G, Vyrides I, Fountoulakis MS, Stasinakis AS. Combined use of strictly anaerobic MBBR and aerobic MBR for municipal wastewater treatment and removal of pharmaceuticals. J Environ Manage 2023; 343:118211. [PMID: 37253313 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
An integrated lab-scale wastewater treatment system consisting of an anaerobic Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (AnMBBR) and an aerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AeMBR) in series was used to study the removal and fate of pharmaceuticals during wastewater treatment. Continuous-flow experiments were conducted applying different temperatures to the AnMBBR (Phase A: 35 °C; Phase B: 20 °C), while batch experiments were performed for calculating sorption and biotransformation kinetics. The total removal of major pollutants and target pharmaceuticals was not affected by the temperature of the AnMBBR. In Phase A, the average removal of dissolved chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), and ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) was 86%, 91% and 96% while in Phase B, 91%, 96% and 96%, respectively. Removal efficiencies ranging between 65% and 100% were observed for metronidazole (MTZ), trimethoprim (TMP), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and valsartan (VAL), while slight (<30%) or no removal was observed for carbamazepine (CBZ) and diclofenac (DCF), respectively. Application of a mass balance model showed that the predominant mechanism for the removal of pharmaceuticals was biotransformation, while the role of sorption was of minor importance. The AeMBR was critical for VAL, SMX and TMP biodegradation; the elimination of MTZ was strongly enhanced by the AnMBBR. In both bioreactors, Bacteroidetes was the dominant phylum in both bioreactors over time. In the AnMBBR, Cloacibacterium and Bacteroides had a higher abundance in the biocarriers compared to the suspended biomass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Athanasia Iliopoulou
- Water and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, 81100, Greece
| | - Olga S Arvaniti
- Water and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, 81100, Greece; Department of Agricultural Development, Agrofood and Management of Natural Resources, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Psachna, 34400, Greece
| | - Michalis Deligiannis
- Water and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, 81100, Greece
| | - Georgia Gatidou
- Water and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, 81100, Greece
| | - Ioannis Vyrides
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 95 Eirinis Str., Limassol, 3603, Cyprus
| | - Michalis S Fountoulakis
- Water and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, 81100, Greece
| | - Athanasios S Stasinakis
- Water and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, 81100, Greece.
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