Occurrence of pharmaceutical contaminants and screening of treatment alternatives for southeastern Louisiana.
Recent studies conducted in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere indicate that low-level concentrations of pharmaceuticals and personal-care products (PPCPs) and their metabolites may be widespread contaminants in our aquatic environment. The persistence of pharmaceutical contaminants has been attributed to (1) human consumption of drugs and subsequent discharges from sewage treatment plants, and (2) veterinary use of drugs and nonpoint discharges from agricultural runoff. Contamination of water resources by these compounds, particularly endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), is emerging as an international environmental concern. The long-term effects of continuous, low-level exposure to PPCPs is not well understood. Preliminary data for raw water samples collected from the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, are summarized. Three PPCP compounds (clofibric acid, naproxen, and estrone) were analyzed using solid-phase extraction, derivatization, and GC/MS. Batch experiments also were conducted to determine equilibrium capacity of activated carbon for clofibric acid. Preliminary results indicate the occurrence of the selected PPCP contaminants in raw water samples at or near method-detection limits. For batch equilibrium experiments, preliminary results indicate that activated carbon potentially can be used to remove clofibric acid from water. More research is needed to develop rapid and reliable methods for PPCP analysis and to determine the effectiveness of treatment processes for removal of PPCP contaminants in water.
Boyd
G R
GR
Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA. gboyd@tulane.edu
Grimm
D A
DA
D000818:Animals; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D002995:Clofibric Acid / Q000032:analysis; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004970:Estrone / Q000032:analysis; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008145:Louisiana; D009288:Naproxen / Q000032:analysis; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D004970:Estrone; D002995:Clofibric Acid; D009288:Naproxen; D002244:Carbon