Occurrence, consumption level, fate and ecotoxicology risk of beta-agonist pharmaceuticals in a wastewater treatment plant in Eastern China
- 17 March 2023
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
- Vol. 195 (4), 1-11
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11099-8
Abstract
Beta-agonist pharmaceuticals are widely used in humans and livestock for disease treatment, legal or illegal growth promotion in food animals, bodybuilding, weight loss, and sports doping. The occurrence of beta-agonists in wastewater treatment plants and their subsequent environmental impacts require greater attention. This study determined the levels of 12 beta-agonists in a wastewater treatment plant and evaluated their ecotoxicological risks as well as consumption levels and risks to human health. Among the 12 selected beta-agonists, all were detected in wastewater and 11 in sludge. In most cases, the concentrations of beta-agonists were higher in spring than in summer. Their total average daily mass loads per capita in the influent and effluent were 1.35 μg/d/p and 2.11 μg/d/p, respectively. The overall removal efficiencies of individual beta-agonists ranged from -295.3 to 71.2%. Ecotoxicological risk assessment revealed a low risk to daphnid and green algae from the levels of fenoterol and the mixture of 12 selected beta-agonists in the effluent. The daily consumption levels of individual beta-agonists per capita were 0.028–1.200 μg/d/p. Regular monitoring of beta-agonists in municipal sewage systems and their risk assessment based on toxicological data are urgently required in the future.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Key Research and Development Program of China (2020YFC1806904-1, 2020YFC1806904-1, 2020YFC1806904-1, 2020YFC1806904-1, 2020YFC1806904-1, 2020YFC1806904-1)
This publication has 54 references indexed in Scilit:
- Occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds in urban wastewater: Removal, mass load and environmental risk after a secondary treatment—A reviewScience of The Total Environment, 2012
- Elimination and fate of selected micro-organic pollutants in a full-scale anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic process combined with membrane bioreactor for municipal wastewater reclamationWater Research, 2010
- Occurrence and a screening‐level risk assessment of human pharmaceuticals in the Pearl River system, South ChinaEnvironmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2010
- Fate and distribution of pharmaceuticals in wastewater and sewage sludge of the conventional activated sludge (CAS) and advanced membrane bioreactor (MBR) treatmentWater Research, 2009
- Effects of the Addition of Beta2-agonist Tulobuterol Patches to Inhaled Corticosteroid in Patients with AsthmaAllergology International, 2009
- The occurrence and removal of selected pharmaceutical compounds in a sewage treatment works utilising activated sludge treatmentEnvironmental Pollution, 2007
- Environmental risk assessment of pharmaceutical residues in wastewater effluents, surface waters and sedimentsTalanta, 2006
- Age-related seasonal patterns of emergency department visits for acute asthma in an urban environmentAnnals of Emergency Medicine, 2003
- Stereoselective urinary excretion of formoterol and its glucuronide conjugate in humanBritish Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2002
- Occurrence of drugs in German sewage treatment plants and riversWater Research, 1998