pollutants in water, their environmental fate, and their potential ecotoxic effects has
increased [10–12].
For example, based on a Scopus literature review (2017–2018), López-Pacheco
et al. [13] informed summarized concentration ranges of more than 100 pharmaceuticals in different water sources. For effluents of wastewater treatment plants
(WWTPs), there is evidence of nine studies reporting levels of various pharmaceuticals between 0.103 and 1,673,000 ng/L; for river and surface waters, the literature
(15 studies) revealed a concentration range of 0.11–276,000 ng/L; and for groundwater, the range is 0.33–339 ng/L according to two articles reviewed. Moreover,
ocean/seawaters were found to contain pharmaceutical levels between 0.0038 and
1,219 ng/L in five studies, and for drinking water only, one study reported a
concentration of 10.3 ng/L for the drug carbamazepine. NSAIDs with more available
data among all these studies were acetaminophen, diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen,
naproxen, and salicylic acid.
Diclofenac was the only NSAID conforming the first Watch List for emerging
pollutants from the European Water Framework Directive (WFD; Directive 2000/
60/EC) which covers both fresh waters and transitional waters (the estuarine and
coastal area up to one nautical mile, or 1.85 km, from the shore) [14]. However, since
the median surface water concentration of diclofenac was already established
between 0.027 and 0.047 μg/L and a lower Predicted No Effect Concentration
(PNEC) of 0.05 μg/L has been updated, the European Commission’s Joint Research
Centre (JCR) determined that there is no need to collect additional monitoring data
for this substance and decided in 2018 to remove it from the Watch List [15]. To date
no other NSAID has been selected as a new Watch List substance for inclusion.
While the countries of the European continent have responded satisfactorily with
sufficient and relevant evidence to the prioritization of diclofenac as a substance to
be monitored in bodies of water, the rest of the world still has the pending task for
prioritizing and monitoring this and many other pharmaceuticals.
Finding drugs and other emerging pollutants in wastewater is somewhat expected
and understandable; however, finding them on surface or groundwater is more
worrisome as it demonstrates, in part, the inefficiency of the methods used today
to treat wastewater.
That is why concentrating the information available to date of the levels found of
different NSAIDs in various types of aquatic compartments, with diverse methods of
extraction and analysis, is useful to direct future research, guidelines, and policies
that facilitate the understanding of the problem of NSAIDs in the environment, the
design of efficient strategies to minimize their presence and the development of
evidence-based regulation.
Thus, the objective of this chapter is to provide a systematic review of the
worldwide occurrence of NSAIDs in three environmental reservoirs of water (saline,
fresh, and groundwater) and in drinking water by means of identifying and analyzing
the available literature to date that communicates about the detection and quantification of these drugs in natural water samples.
The reported presence of one or more NSAIDs in the four different types of water
was investigated through a qualitative systematic review assembled in accordance
Worldwide Occurrence, Detection, and Fate of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory. . .
57
increased [10–12].
For example, based on a Scopus literature review (2017–2018), López-Pacheco
et al. [13] informed summarized concentration ranges of more than 100 pharmaceuticals in different water sources. For effluents of wastewater treatment plants
(WWTPs), there is evidence of nine studies reporting levels of various pharmaceuticals between 0.103 and 1,673,000 ng/L; for river and surface waters, the literature
(15 studies) revealed a concentration range of 0.11–276,000 ng/L; and for groundwater, the range is 0.33–339 ng/L according to two articles reviewed. Moreover,
ocean/seawaters were found to contain pharmaceutical levels between 0.0038 and
1,219 ng/L in five studies, and for drinking water only, one study reported a
concentration of 10.3 ng/L for the drug carbamazepine. NSAIDs with more available
data among all these studies were acetaminophen, diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen,
naproxen, and salicylic acid.
Diclofenac was the only NSAID conforming the first Watch List for emerging
pollutants from the European Water Framework Directive (WFD; Directive 2000/
60/EC) which covers both fresh waters and transitional waters (the estuarine and
coastal area up to one nautical mile, or 1.85 km, from the shore) [14]. However, since
the median surface water concentration of diclofenac was already established
between 0.027 and 0.047 μg/L and a lower Predicted No Effect Concentration
(PNEC) of 0.05 μg/L has been updated, the European Commission’s Joint Research
Centre (JCR) determined that there is no need to collect additional monitoring data
for this substance and decided in 2018 to remove it from the Watch List [15]. To date
no other NSAID has been selected as a new Watch List substance for inclusion.
While the countries of the European continent have responded satisfactorily with
sufficient and relevant evidence to the prioritization of diclofenac as a substance to
be monitored in bodies of water, the rest of the world still has the pending task for
prioritizing and monitoring this and many other pharmaceuticals.
Finding drugs and other emerging pollutants in wastewater is somewhat expected
and understandable; however, finding them on surface or groundwater is more
worrisome as it demonstrates, in part, the inefficiency of the methods used today
to treat wastewater.
That is why concentrating the information available to date of the levels found of
different NSAIDs in various types of aquatic compartments, with diverse methods of
extraction and analysis, is useful to direct future research, guidelines, and policies
that facilitate the understanding of the problem of NSAIDs in the environment, the
design of efficient strategies to minimize their presence and the development of
evidence-based regulation.
Thus, the objective of this chapter is to provide a systematic review of the
worldwide occurrence of NSAIDs in three environmental reservoirs of water (saline,
fresh, and groundwater) and in drinking water by means of identifying and analyzing
the available literature to date that communicates about the detection and quantification of these drugs in natural water samples.
The reported presence of one or more NSAIDs in the four different types of water
was investigated through a qualitative systematic review assembled in accordance
Worldwide Occurrence, Detection, and Fate of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory. . .
57