Sale-based estimation of pharmaceutical concentrations and associated environmental risk in the Japanese wastewater system

Kai He; Alistair G. Borthwick; Yingchao Lin; Yuening Li; Jie Fu; Yongjie Wong; Wen Liu

Environment International (Jun 2020)

Sale-based estimation of pharmaceutical concentrations and associated environmental risk in the Japanese wastewater system

Kai He,
Alistair G. Borthwick,
Yingchao Lin,
Yuening Li,
Jie Fu,
Yongjie Wong,
Wen Liu

Affiliations

Kai He: Research Centre for Environmental Quality Management, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan
Alistair G. Borthwick: Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, The King’s Buildings, EH9 3JL Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Yingchao Lin: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China; Corresponding authors at: The Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education; Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China (W. Liu).
Yuening Li: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
Jie Fu: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, PR China
Yongjie Wong: Research Centre for Environmental Quality Management, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan
Wen Liu: The Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education; Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China; The Beijing Innovation Center for Engineering Science and Advanced Technology (BIC-ESAT), Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China; Corresponding authors at: The Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education; Department of Environmental Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China (W. Liu).

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 139

Abstract

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Information on sales and emission of selected pharmaceuticals were used to predict their concentrations in Japanese wastewater influent through a >300 of pharmaceuticals data sink. A combined wastewater-based epidemiology and environmental risk analysis follow was established. By comparing predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) of pharmaceuticals in wastewater influent against measured environmental concentrations (MECs) reported in previous studies, it was found that the model gave accurate results for 17 pharmaceuticals (0.5 1 μg/L), and the PECs of 6 pharmaceuticals were extremely high (>10 μg/L) in wastewater effluent, which could be attributed to their high usage rates by consumers and poor removal rates in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Furthermore, environmental risk assessment (ERA) was carried out by calculating the ratio of predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) to PEC of different pharmaceuticals, and it was found that 9 pharmaceuticals were likely to have high toxicity, and 54 pharmaceuticals were likely to have potential toxicity. It is recommended that this is further investigated in detail. The priority screening and environmental risk assessment results on pharmaceuticals can provide reliable basis for policy-making and environmental management.

Published in Environment International

ISSN: 0160-4120 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international

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