Occurrence and distribution of selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products in aquatic environments: a comparative study of regions in China with different urbanization levels.
OBJECTIVE
We analyzed and compared the distributions of 13 target pharmaceuticals in different water samples from the Hangzhou metropolitan area and Linan County, Southeast China.


METHODS
Sampling was conducted in five hospitals, two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and Qiantang River. Samples were concentrated by solid-phase extraction and PPCP concentrations were determined by UPLC-MS/MS.


CONCLUSIONS
Trimethoprim, erythromycin A dihydrate, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, diclofenac sodium, and atenolol were the most frequently detected pharmaceuticals in hospital effluents. Most of the pharmaceutical concentrations in hospital effluents were higher than those in the WWTP influents. Although both WWTPs adopt the anaerobic-aerobic-anoxic treatment process, the removal rates for pharmaceuticals, such as trimethoprim and diclofenac sodium, were completely different. Meanwhile, erythromycin A dihydrate, ofloxacin, penicillin-G, cephalexin, cefazolin, ibuprofen, and diclofenac sodium were detected in Qiantang River.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that hospitals are more concentrated sources of pharmaceuticals than WWTPs, and the WWTPs are not the only route of entry of pharmaceuticals into aquatic environments in these two regions.
Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. chen_hong@zju.edu.cn
Hong
H
Chen
Xiaojuan
X
Li
Saichang
S
Zhu
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000032:analysis; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D003358:Cosmetics / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D003358:Cosmetics; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical