exploited antibiotics end up their transmission fate to the soil, groundwater reservoirs, and surface waters, directly or indirectly, through runoff or drain-off
[26]. Such a controlled or uncontrolled transmission of antibiotics residues massively stress the ecosystem that should be dealt with care for their effective mitigation prior to release into water matrices. Other potential sources of pharmaceuticals
in our water bodies include the unrestrained spillage or improper dumping of expired
drugs in the landfill site. Besides, drainage/sewage system and waste effluent streams
are also the points of significant contamination [27, 28].
3 Case Studies of Point-Based Source Pollution
As mentioned earlier, WWTPs are considered one of the significant and imperative
point-based sources of pharmaceutical-related ECs in water matrices [29–31]. The
existing literature evidently shows that a diverse range of around 16 to 54 types of
pharmaceuticals is found in wastewater effluents. For instance, He et al. [31]
performed a scale-based approximation of pharmaceutical concentrations and associated environmental risk in the Japanese wastewater system. It was recorded that
36 pharmaceuticals, majority of them were antibiotics and analgesics, had high
predicted environmental concentrations in influent with pranlukast, a receptor antagonist which has the highest concentration in wastewater influent at 257.0 μg/L.
Moreover, among all tested pharmaceuticals, the occurrence concentrations of
26 were relatively higher than 1.0 μg/L, while the predicted environmental concentrations of 6 other pharmaceutical-related compounds were extremely higher than
10.0 μg/L. Such existence or occurrence of pharmaceuticals at extreme/higher level
possibly attributes to excessive consumption rates by consumers and poor removal
rates in WWTPs. From a consumers-based source view, partially or incompletely
metabolized pharmaceutical excretion into the domestic sewage stream is the main
cause of pharmaceuticals to the aquatic environment [32]. Among several reported
pharmaceutical compounds, analgesics/anti-inflammatories (i.e., acetaminophen,
salicylic acid, and salicylamide) are abundant in wastewater influent (>100 ng/L)
in Japan [33, 34]. Likewise, the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in wastewater stream/
influents in the USA, the UK, Spain, Italy, India, and China has been reported [35–
40]. To avoid literature redundancy, Table 1 summarizes various studies that report
the notable occurrence of pharmaceuticals in environmental matrices.
⁄
ä
Fig. 3 (continued) (15) sulfasalazine, (16) trimethoprim, (17) minocycline, (18) eravacycline,
(19) demeclocycline, (20) doxycycline, (21) dalbavancin, (22) oritavancin, (23) telavancin,
(24) vancomycin, (25) gentamicin, (26) tobramycin, (27) amikacin, (28) meropenem,
(29) doripenem, (30) ertapenem, (31) imipenem, and (32) cilastatin. MW: molecular weight
(g/mol). See CAS # for further details. Reprinted from Bilal et al. [1] Biocatalytic degradation/
redefining “removal” fate of pharmaceutically active compounds and antibiotics in the aquatic
environment. Science of The Total Environment, 691, 1190–1211, © 2019 Elsevier B.V., with
permission from Elsevier
Sources of Pharmaceuticals in Water
39
[26]. Such a controlled or uncontrolled transmission of antibiotics residues massively stress the ecosystem that should be dealt with care for their effective mitigation prior to release into water matrices. Other potential sources of pharmaceuticals
in our water bodies include the unrestrained spillage or improper dumping of expired
drugs in the landfill site. Besides, drainage/sewage system and waste effluent streams
are also the points of significant contamination [27, 28].
3 Case Studies of Point-Based Source Pollution
As mentioned earlier, WWTPs are considered one of the significant and imperative
point-based sources of pharmaceutical-related ECs in water matrices [29–31]. The
existing literature evidently shows that a diverse range of around 16 to 54 types of
pharmaceuticals is found in wastewater effluents. For instance, He et al. [31]
performed a scale-based approximation of pharmaceutical concentrations and associated environmental risk in the Japanese wastewater system. It was recorded that
36 pharmaceuticals, majority of them were antibiotics and analgesics, had high
predicted environmental concentrations in influent with pranlukast, a receptor antagonist which has the highest concentration in wastewater influent at 257.0 μg/L.
Moreover, among all tested pharmaceuticals, the occurrence concentrations of
26 were relatively higher than 1.0 μg/L, while the predicted environmental concentrations of 6 other pharmaceutical-related compounds were extremely higher than
10.0 μg/L. Such existence or occurrence of pharmaceuticals at extreme/higher level
possibly attributes to excessive consumption rates by consumers and poor removal
rates in WWTPs. From a consumers-based source view, partially or incompletely
metabolized pharmaceutical excretion into the domestic sewage stream is the main
cause of pharmaceuticals to the aquatic environment [32]. Among several reported
pharmaceutical compounds, analgesics/anti-inflammatories (i.e., acetaminophen,
salicylic acid, and salicylamide) are abundant in wastewater influent (>100 ng/L)
in Japan [33, 34]. Likewise, the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in wastewater stream/
influents in the USA, the UK, Spain, Italy, India, and China has been reported [35–
40]. To avoid literature redundancy, Table 1 summarizes various studies that report
the notable occurrence of pharmaceuticals in environmental matrices.
⁄
ä
Fig. 3 (continued) (15) sulfasalazine, (16) trimethoprim, (17) minocycline, (18) eravacycline,
(19) demeclocycline, (20) doxycycline, (21) dalbavancin, (22) oritavancin, (23) telavancin,
(24) vancomycin, (25) gentamicin, (26) tobramycin, (27) amikacin, (28) meropenem,
(29) doripenem, (30) ertapenem, (31) imipenem, and (32) cilastatin. MW: molecular weight
(g/mol). See CAS # for further details. Reprinted from Bilal et al. [1] Biocatalytic degradation/
redefining “removal” fate of pharmaceutically active compounds and antibiotics in the aquatic
environment. Science of The Total Environment, 691, 1190–1211, © 2019 Elsevier B.V., with
permission from Elsevier
Sources of Pharmaceuticals in Water
39