title: Identification of priority pharmaceuticals in the water environment of China.
abstract: In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the trace-level contamination of pharmaceuticals in the water environment all over the world. Considering a large number of pharmaceuticals used, it is crucial to establish a priority list of pharmaceuticals that should be monitored and/or treated first. In the present study, we developed a ranking system based on the pharmaceutical consumption, removal performance in the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and potential ecological effects, and applied to the situation of China. 39 pharmaceuticals, which had available consumption data and also been reported previously in the WWTPs of China, were selected as candidate pharmaceuticals. Among them, seventeen pharmaceuticals were considered as priority pharmaceuticals, out of which, erythromycin, diclofenac acid and ibuprofen, had the high priority. Compared with other literatures, we found that some pharmaceuticals given concerns to globally should also be included in the priority list in China; while some pharmaceuticals, not mentioned in other literatures, such as cefalexin, ketoconazole, should be also given prior consideration in China. Among all the therapeutic classes, antibiotics, which were grossly abused in China, contributed the most to the priority pharmaceuticals. However, priority antibiotics accounted for only 32% of candidate antibiotics, while 71% and 100% of the candidate anti-inflammatory and antilipidemic respectively were identified as the priority pharmaceuticals, indicating that antibiotics might be overanxiously considered in the previous studies on their behaviors in the WWTPs of China.
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, PR China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wentao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Shubo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Zhaofu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Shuguang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000032:analysis; D002506:Cephalexin / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D004008:Diclofenac / Q000032:analysis; D004363:Drug Utilization; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007052:Ibuprofen / Q000032:analysis; D007654:Ketoconazole / Q000032:analysis; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D004008:Diclofenac; D004917:Erythromycin; D002506:Cephalexin; D007654:Ketoconazole; D007052:Ibuprofen