title: Characterization of pharmaceutically active compounds in Beijing, China: Occurrence pattern, spatiotemporal distribution and its environmental implication.
abstract: Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) as an important group of "emerging contaminants" (ECs), have been highlighted and received global attentions in last decade. China has tremendous consumption of PhACs and the most pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide. In this study, 33 PhACs (19 antibiotics included) were monitored in the Beiyun River basin in Beijing, China. The seasonal occurrence, temporal-spatial distribution and potential source were investigated. The total levels were about 2μgL-1. Non-antibiotics were more frequently detected. The highest median concentrations were observed for caffeine (558ngL-1) and erythromycin (319ngL-1). Acetaminophen, erythromycin, diclofenac and N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide showed highly significant seasonal variation, while caffeine, carbamazepine, metoprolol and most sulfonamides were more stable. The burden was most heavy in Qing River in both seasons (up to 4μgL-1). Antibiotics from veterinary use accounted for minor contribution in this region. The characteristics and trends were overviewed by comparing with our previous survey. The total level of 15 PhACs dropped significantly by 37% on average from 2013 to 2015. The proportion of caffeine, once a major component in 2013, reduced from 77% to 47%. The burden of these ECs in surface water of Beijing is remarkably reduced, suggesting the overall situation has been improving.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Ruixue
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: thuwb@tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yizhe
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Shubo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yujue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000187:drug effects; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012621:Seasons; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Antibiotics; Environmental risks; Overall trends; PPCPs; Seasonal variation