title: Environmental risk assessment of selected pharmaceuticals in Turkey.
abstract: In this study, environmental risks of selected pharmaceuticals were investigated to assess potential hazards. Ciprofloxacin, Clarithromycin, Cefuroxime axetil, antibiotics, Benzalkoniuman antiseptic, Paracetamol, an analgesic, and Naproxen, an anti-inflammatory, were selected due to their high rate of usage in Turkey. Ciprofloxacin was found to have the highest risk due to its high PEC/PNEC ratio (28.636). Benzalkonium, Paracetamol and Clarithromycin have a potential to cause environmental hazards. The biodegradation and biological concentration factors (BCF) of the drugs were also determined using EPA/STWIN and EPA/BCFWIN programs. The results illustrated that these pharmaceuticals are nonbiodegradable in wastewater treatment plants. The BCFs of Benzalkonium and Clarithromycin were found to be very high, 70.790 L/kg and 56.490 L/kg, respectively. It was suggested that alternative treatment methods other than biological ones should be investigated for these pharmaceuticals because of their low biodegradability. Also, unnecessary use of antibiotics is supposed to be discouraged to reduce environmental hazards.
authors.affiliation: Erciyes University Engineering Faculty Environmental Engineering Department, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey. Electronic address: merveoguz@erciyes.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Merve
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oğuz
authors.affiliation: Erciyes University Engineering Faculty Environmental Engineering Department, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hamdi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mihçiokur
mesh_terms: D020003:1-Octanol / Q000737:chemistry; D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D000327:Adsorption; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D002444:Cefuroxime / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D002939:Ciprofloxacin / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D017291:Clarithromycin / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D009288:Naproxen / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012722:Sewage / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014421:Turkey; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; D000082:Acetaminophen; D009288:Naproxen; D002939:Ciprofloxacin; D017291:Clarithromycin; D020003:1-Octanol; D002444:Cefuroxime; C040738:cefuroxime axetil
keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Predicted environmental concentration; Predicted noeffective environmental concentration; Risk assessment