title: Linking the environmental loads to the fate of PPCPs in Beijing: Considering both the treated and untreated wastewater sources.
abstract: The environmental loads of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in Beijing were estimated from direct discharge of untreated wastewater and WWTP treated effluent. The annual environmental loads of 15 PPCP components ranged from 16.3 kg (propranolol) to 9.85 tons (caffeine). A fugacity model was developed to successfully estimate the PPCP pollution based on the estimated environmental load. The modeled results approximated the observed PPCP concentrations in Beijing. The untreated wastewater contributed significantly to PPCP pollution in Beijing, ranging from 46% (propranolol) to 99% (caffeine). The total environmental burden of target PPCPs ranged from 0.90 kg (propranolol) to 536 kg (caffeine). Water is the most important media for the fate of PPCPs. Monte Carlo-based concentration distributions of PPCPs are consistent with the observed results. The most important way to reduce the PPCP pollution is to both improve wastewater collection rate and adopt deep treatment technologies.
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Tsinghua-Veolia Joint Research Center for Advanced Environmental Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: thuwb@tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Tsinghua-Veolia Joint Research Center for Advanced Environmental Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Shubo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yujue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Tsinghua-Veolia Joint Research Center for Advanced Environmental Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000068476:Beijing; D003358:Cosmetics / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003358:Cosmetics; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Environmental load; Fugacity model; Personal care product; Pharmaceutical; Sensitivity analysis; Uncertainty analysis