title: Prioritization and analysis of pharmaceuticals for human use contaminating the aquatic ecosystem in Italy.
abstract: A predictive approach is needed to study pharmaceuticals and their loads in the environment so as to restrict monitoring to the molecules most likely to occur widely. A three steps method has been developed for this purpose. The first step is to establish the Predicted Environmental Concentrations (PECs) following the approach proposed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA); then the list is refined taking account of metabolic rates and excretion of the parent compounds in humans. In the third stage the substances are sorted according to their fate in sewage treatment plants (STPs). Finally, the results are compared with real concentrations of the pharmaceuticals in surface waters analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS techniques. This paper reports results of this predictive approach in 2013 for Italy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, IRCCS Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Via G La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, IRCCS Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Via G La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy. Electronic address: Ettore.zuccato@marionegri.it.
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zuccato
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, IRCCS Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Via G La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castiglioni
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005060:Europe; D006077:Government Agencies; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Mass spectrometry; Measured environmental concentration (MEC); Pharmaceuticals; Predicted environmental concentration (PEC); Sewage treatment plant (STP)