4
K. Kuroda and J. Kobayashi
Asia, with a population of 4.6 billion as of 2020 (60% of the world population;
https://population.un.org/wpp/), is a major consumer and producer of pharmaceuticals. For example, India and China were the two largest consumers of antibiotics in
2010 (Van Boeckel et al. 2014). In Asia, groundwater is an essential source of domestic water. In China, more than 400 of the country’s 657 cities (61%) use groundwater
as the major source of water supply (Liu and Zheng 2016). In India, around 80% of
the rural population and 50% of the urban population use groundwater for domestic
purposes (Chakraborti et al. 2011). Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify
possible PPCP contamination in the groundwaters of various Asian regions.
The occurrence and fate of PPCPs and ASs in the world’s groundwater have been
summarized in a number of reviews (Lapworth et al. 2012; Postigo and Barceló
2015; Sui et al. 2015). These papers, however, rarely include studies on groundwater
in Asia. This limited inclusion of Asian groundwater studies is partly because only
a few Asian studies existed when the reviews were published. Since then, however,
an increasing number of studies have been conducted on PPCPs and ASs in the
groundwater of multiple Asian countries. Recently, a few country-specific review
papers have been published on CECs, including PPCPs and ASs, in the groundwater
of China (Dong et al. 2018) and India (Sackaria and Elango 2019). To date, however,
there have been no reviews summarizing the results of studies investigating the
occurrence of PPCPs and ASs in the groundwater of multiple Asian countries.
Hence, the objective of this chapter is to review the occurrence, sources, pathways, and fates of various pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and artificial
sweeteners in groundwater across Asia. An overview of field studies from six Asian
countries (China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam), as well as countryby-country analysis, is provided. The detection frequencies and concentrations of
13 representative PPCPs and ASs are compared among the studies. In addition, the
main sources, pathways, and fates of the contaminants; the utility of PPCPs and ASs
as anthropogenic markers or indicators of groundwater pollution; and the potential
risk to humans and aquatic organisms; are summarized. Finally, future challenges
are discussed from an Asian perspective.
1.2 Overview of PPCP and AS Studies on Asian
Groundwater
Based on a database search using Scopus and Google Scholar, 22 scholarly publications were identified as suitable for analysis. The criteria for selection were: (i)
the study involves detection of at least one PPCP or AS in Asian groundwater, (ii)
the number of surveyed sites (wells) and samples are clearly specified, and (iii) the
full text and its supplementary information are available in English. In addition, the
results of the authors’ recent investigation of groundwater in Tokyo were included. In
K. Kuroda and J. Kobayashi
Asia, with a population of 4.6 billion as of 2020 (60% of the world population;
https://population.un.org/wpp/), is a major consumer and producer of pharmaceuticals. For example, India and China were the two largest consumers of antibiotics in
2010 (Van Boeckel et al. 2014). In Asia, groundwater is an essential source of domestic water. In China, more than 400 of the country’s 657 cities (61%) use groundwater
as the major source of water supply (Liu and Zheng 2016). In India, around 80% of
the rural population and 50% of the urban population use groundwater for domestic
purposes (Chakraborti et al. 2011). Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify
possible PPCP contamination in the groundwaters of various Asian regions.
The occurrence and fate of PPCPs and ASs in the world’s groundwater have been
summarized in a number of reviews (Lapworth et al. 2012; Postigo and Barceló
2015; Sui et al. 2015). These papers, however, rarely include studies on groundwater
in Asia. This limited inclusion of Asian groundwater studies is partly because only
a few Asian studies existed when the reviews were published. Since then, however,
an increasing number of studies have been conducted on PPCPs and ASs in the
groundwater of multiple Asian countries. Recently, a few country-specific review
papers have been published on CECs, including PPCPs and ASs, in the groundwater
of China (Dong et al. 2018) and India (Sackaria and Elango 2019). To date, however,
there have been no reviews summarizing the results of studies investigating the
occurrence of PPCPs and ASs in the groundwater of multiple Asian countries.
Hence, the objective of this chapter is to review the occurrence, sources, pathways, and fates of various pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and artificial
sweeteners in groundwater across Asia. An overview of field studies from six Asian
countries (China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam), as well as countryby-country analysis, is provided. The detection frequencies and concentrations of
13 representative PPCPs and ASs are compared among the studies. In addition, the
main sources, pathways, and fates of the contaminants; the utility of PPCPs and ASs
as anthropogenic markers or indicators of groundwater pollution; and the potential
risk to humans and aquatic organisms; are summarized. Finally, future challenges
are discussed from an Asian perspective.
1.2 Overview of PPCP and AS Studies on Asian
Groundwater
Based on a database search using Scopus and Google Scholar, 22 scholarly publications were identified as suitable for analysis. The criteria for selection were: (i)
the study involves detection of at least one PPCP or AS in Asian groundwater, (ii)
the number of surveyed sites (wells) and samples are clearly specified, and (iii) the
full text and its supplementary information are available in English. In addition, the
results of the authors’ recent investigation of groundwater in Tokyo were included. In