lagoons, both through the optimization of those approaches already useful for
quantifying levels of these drugs in wastewater (pre- and posttreatment) as through
the development of new and more efficient methods.
3 Saline Waters
Saline waters comprise environmental aquatic reservoirs represented mainly by
oceans, seas, and coasts. Marine ecosystems are the final recipient of surface waters,
but also urban sewage effluents, medicinal products used in marine aquaculture,
animal husbandry and horticulture along rivers and in coastal areas, as well as
leachates from coastal landfills and seafills constitute the main sources of arrival of
pharmaceuticals as pollutants to marine waters [14]. Seawater presents important
differences in physicochemical conditions like salinity, pH, and organic matter in
comparison to fresh water which can significantly modify the environmental fate of
pharmaceuticals. This makes this ecosystem very different from that of fresh water
so widely investigated and justifies the urgency of qualitative and quantitative
research on the presence of pharmaceuticals in marine waters.
Moreover, coastal areas are home to large megacities and thus continually
impacted by anthropic activities. Together with many other emerging contaminants,
medicinal products and their metabolites directly or indirectly end up reaching the
marine environment, and to date, research on the ecotoxicological effects of those
pollutants on aquatic organisms, especially on tropical species, is still very limited
[58]. Fortunately, publications have been increasing in recent years dealing with
toxicity studies in marine organisms such as the sea snail Gibbula umbilicalis; the
marine crustaceans Gammarus spp., Artemia sp., and Mysidopsis juniae; the echinoderm Echinometra lucunter; the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum; mussels
such as Mytilus galloprovincialis and Mytilus edulis; algae such as Laminaria
digitata and Fucus vesiculosus; and the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas.
Recently, several NSAIDs have been detected specifically in seawater from
different parts of the globe.
In the Saudi Arabian coastal waters of the Red Sea, Ali et al. reported diclofenac,
ibuprofen, and acetaminophen maximum concentrations of 14,020, 508, and
2,363 ng/L, respectively [59]. Ibuprofen was also identified in different sites of the
coastal and ocean waters from the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain) in concentrations up to
32.3 ng/L in oceanic water, where acetaminophen, diclofenac, mefenamic acid, and
salicylic acid were also detected in concentrations up to 2.8, 2.5, 2.7, and 86.3 ng/L,
respectively. Coastal water presented higher maximum concentrations for 10 out of a
total of 11 NSAIDs investigated by Biel-Maeso et al.: acetaminophen (41.5 ng/L),
diclofenac (31.9 ng/L), fenoprofen (7.5 ng/L), ibuprofen (1,219.70 ng/L), indomethacin (4.5 ng/L), ketoprofen (2.6 ng/L), mefenamic acid 4.5 ng/L), naproxen (95.8 ng/
L), phenazone (309.8 ng/L), and salicylic acid (977.2 ng/L) [60].
For the purposes of this chapter and based on the systematic review conducted in
MEDLINE/PubMed, we found 9 out of a total of 82 articles focused on and reporting
70
L. I. Castro-Pastrana et al.
quantifying levels of these drugs in wastewater (pre- and posttreatment) as through
the development of new and more efficient methods.
3 Saline Waters
Saline waters comprise environmental aquatic reservoirs represented mainly by
oceans, seas, and coasts. Marine ecosystems are the final recipient of surface waters,
but also urban sewage effluents, medicinal products used in marine aquaculture,
animal husbandry and horticulture along rivers and in coastal areas, as well as
leachates from coastal landfills and seafills constitute the main sources of arrival of
pharmaceuticals as pollutants to marine waters [14]. Seawater presents important
differences in physicochemical conditions like salinity, pH, and organic matter in
comparison to fresh water which can significantly modify the environmental fate of
pharmaceuticals. This makes this ecosystem very different from that of fresh water
so widely investigated and justifies the urgency of qualitative and quantitative
research on the presence of pharmaceuticals in marine waters.
Moreover, coastal areas are home to large megacities and thus continually
impacted by anthropic activities. Together with many other emerging contaminants,
medicinal products and their metabolites directly or indirectly end up reaching the
marine environment, and to date, research on the ecotoxicological effects of those
pollutants on aquatic organisms, especially on tropical species, is still very limited
[58]. Fortunately, publications have been increasing in recent years dealing with
toxicity studies in marine organisms such as the sea snail Gibbula umbilicalis; the
marine crustaceans Gammarus spp., Artemia sp., and Mysidopsis juniae; the echinoderm Echinometra lucunter; the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum; mussels
such as Mytilus galloprovincialis and Mytilus edulis; algae such as Laminaria
digitata and Fucus vesiculosus; and the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas.
Recently, several NSAIDs have been detected specifically in seawater from
different parts of the globe.
In the Saudi Arabian coastal waters of the Red Sea, Ali et al. reported diclofenac,
ibuprofen, and acetaminophen maximum concentrations of 14,020, 508, and
2,363 ng/L, respectively [59]. Ibuprofen was also identified in different sites of the
coastal and ocean waters from the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain) in concentrations up to
32.3 ng/L in oceanic water, where acetaminophen, diclofenac, mefenamic acid, and
salicylic acid were also detected in concentrations up to 2.8, 2.5, 2.7, and 86.3 ng/L,
respectively. Coastal water presented higher maximum concentrations for 10 out of a
total of 11 NSAIDs investigated by Biel-Maeso et al.: acetaminophen (41.5 ng/L),
diclofenac (31.9 ng/L), fenoprofen (7.5 ng/L), ibuprofen (1,219.70 ng/L), indomethacin (4.5 ng/L), ketoprofen (2.6 ng/L), mefenamic acid 4.5 ng/L), naproxen (95.8 ng/
L), phenazone (309.8 ng/L), and salicylic acid (977.2 ng/L) [60].
For the purposes of this chapter and based on the systematic review conducted in
MEDLINE/PubMed, we found 9 out of a total of 82 articles focused on and reporting
70
L. I. Castro-Pastrana et al.