Pharmaceuticals in soils of lower income countries: Physico-chemical fate and risks from wastewater irrigation
- 1 September 2016
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Elsevier BV in Environment International
- Vol. 94, 712-723
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2016.06.018
Abstract
Population growth, increasing affluence, and greater access to medicines have led to an increase in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) entering sewerage networks. In areas with high wastewater reuse, residual quantities of APIs may enter soils via irrigation with treated, partially treated, or untreated wastewater and sludge. Wastewater used for irrigation is currently not included in chemical environmental risk assessments and requires further consideration in areas with high water reuse. This study critically assesses the contemporary understanding of the occurrence and fate of APIs in soils of low and lower-middle income countries (LLMIC) in order to contribute to the development of risk assessments for APIs in LLMIC. The physico-chemical properties of APIs and soils vary greatly globally, impacting on API fate, bioaccumulation and toxicity. The impact of pH, clay and organic matter on the fate of organic ionisable compounds is discussed in detail. This study highlights the occurrence and the partitioning and degradation coefficients for APIs in soil:porewater systems, API usage data in LLMICS and removal rates (where used) within sewage treatment plants as key areas where data are required in order to inform robust environmental risk assessment methodologies.Keywords
Funding Information
- AstraZeneca Global SHE research programme
This publication has 62 references indexed in Scilit:
- Factory-discharged pharmaceuticals could be a relevant source of aquatic environment contamination: Review of evidence and need for knowledgeChemosphere, 2014
- Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: What Are the Big Questions?Environmental Health Perspectives, 2012
- Distribution and accumulation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and pharmaceuticals in wastewater irrigated soils in Hebei, ChinaEnvironmental Pollution, 2011
- Influence of Dissolved Organic Matter on the Environmental Fate of Metals, Nanoparticles, and ColloidsEnvironmental Science & Technology, 2011
- Ciprofloxacin sorption by dissolved organic carbon from reference and bio-waste materialsChemosphere, 2009
- Effects of agricultural conditions on the leaching behaviour of veterinary antibiotics in soilsChemosphere, 2009
- Sorption and mobility of pharmaceutical compounds in soil irrigated with reclaimed wastewaterChemosphere, 2008
- Removal of Pharmaceuticals in Sewage Treatment Plants in ItalyEnvironmental Science & Technology, 2005
- A comparison of water solubility enhancements of organic solutes by aquatic humic materials and commercial humic acidsEnvironmental Science & Technology, 1987
- Water solubility enhancement of some organic pollutants and pesticides by dissolved humic and fulvic acidsEnvironmental Science & Technology, 1986