title: Pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in wastewater samples in north-eastern Tunisia.
abstract: Pharmaceutically active substances (PhACs) and drugs of abuse (DAs) are two classes of contaminants of emerging concern that have attracted great concern and interest by the scientific community during the last two decades. Numerous studies have revealed their presence in treated urban wastewaters. This is mainly due to the fact that some compounds are not efficiently removed during wastewater treatment processes, and are thus able to reach the aquatic environment through wastewater discharge and reuse practices. The application of an optimized multi-residue method for the simultaneous confirmation and quantification of licit and illicit drugs has been investigated in influent and effluent wastewater samples from seven wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in north-eastern Tunisia. Analysis was performed through ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Out of 12 pharmaceutical compounds analyzed, 11 of them were detected mainly in effluent wastewaters. In both matrices, antibiotics and β-blockers were the most detected groups. This suggests that these compounds show noticeable resistance against biological treatment in WWTPs. The estimated concentrations of antibiotics in effluents ranged from ca. 35 ng/L to 1.2 μg/L. However, all five studied illicit drugs were detected, mainly in influent wastewaters. Forensic investigation performed on people suspected to be drug abusers covering all Tunisian cities was conducted by monitoring an epidemiological study of human urine samples surveying rate of consumption for illicit drugs. Hence, these preliminary results confirmed the presence of illicit drugs in the influent wastewater samples. For example, quantification ranges for cocaine were found to be 25-450 ng/L in influent wastewater samples. Significant differences for cocaine consumption across the two sampling methods were observed. Consequently, we conclude that the analyses in wastewater are more reflective of the real levels of illicit drug consumption. Moreover, the cost for chromatographic analysis is lower than the screening test methods for human biological specimen, particularly staffing, which are likely to be much lower.
authors.affiliation: Tunis International Center for Environmental Technologies CITET, Boulevard Leader Yassar Arafat, 1080, Tunis, Tunisia. bilel.moslah@gmail.com.|Faculty of pharmacy, 5000, Monastir, Tunisia. bilel.moslah@gmail.com.|Department of Toxicology, Laboratory of Environment and Toxicology LR12SP07, Urgent Medical Assistance Center (CAMU), 1089, Tunis, Tunisia. bilel.moslah@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bilel
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moslah
authors.affiliation: Nireas-International Water Research Center, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.
authors.forename: Evroula
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hapeshi
authors.affiliation: Tunis International Center for Environmental Technologies CITET, Boulevard Leader Yassar Arafat, 1080, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Amel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jrad
authors.affiliation: Nireas-International Water Research Center, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.|Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nicosia, Cyprus.
authors.forename: Despo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fatta-Kassinos
authors.affiliation: Faculty of pharmacy, 5000, Monastir, Tunisia.|Department of Toxicology, Laboratory of Environment and Toxicology LR12SP07, Urgent Medical Assistance Center (CAMU), 1089, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Abderrazek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hedhili
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000032:analysis*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000032:analysis*; D014416:Tunisia; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Illicit drugs; Pharmaceuticals; Tunisia; Urine; Wastewater; Xenobiotics