Authors: V. Acuña, D. Von Schiller, M. J. García-Galán, M. Petrovic, M. Poch, D. Barceló, S. Sabater

Occurrence and in-stream attenuation of wastewater-derived pharmaceuticals in Iberian rivers

A multitude of pharmaceuticals enter surface waters via discharges of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and many raise environmental and health concerns. Chemical fate models predict their concentrations using estimates of mass loading, dilution and in-stream attenuation. However, current comprehension of the attenuation rates remains a limiting factor for predictive models.We assessed in-stream attenuation of 75 pharmaceuticals in 4 river
segments, aiming to characterize in-stream attenuation variability among different pharmaceutical compounds, as well as among river segments differing in environmental conditions. Our study revealed that in-streamattenuation was highly variable among pharmaceuticals and river segments and that none of the considered pharmaceutical physicochemical and molecular properties proved to be relevant in determining the mean attenuation rates. Instead, the octanol–water partition coefficient (Kow) influenced the variability of rates among river segments, likely due to its effect on sorption to sediments and suspended particles, and therefore influencing the balance between the different attenuation mechanisms (biotransformation, photolysis, sorption, and volatilization). The magnitude of the measured attenuation rates urges scientists to consider themas important as dilution when aiming to predict
concentrations in freshwater ecosystems.

Year:2014
Authors:V. Acuña, D. Von Schiller, M. J. García-Galán, M. Petrovic, M. Poch, D. Barceló, S. Sabater
Reference:

Science of the Total Environment, 503-504 (15), 133-141

Link:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.067