Assessment of Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products, and Hormones in Wastewater Treatment Plants Receiving Inflows from Health Facilities in North West Province, South Africa

Abstract

The presence of 17 pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) belonging to various therapeutic categories was investigated in two hospital wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in North West Province, South Africa. The compounds were extracted from wastewater samples by solid-phase extraction and analysed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The results showed that ofloxacin, chloramphenicol, and bezafibrate were generally below the limit of quantification (LOQ) in the analysed samples. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen were the dominant pharmaceuticals in the influent streams with corresponding concentrations ranging from 21 to 119 μg/L and 0.3 to 63 μg/L, respectively. Both WWTPs were shown to have the capability to remove some of the target PPCPs, including acetaminophen (76-98%), tetracycline (15-93%), ibuprofen (44-99%), and triclocarban (13-98%). The monitoring of the target PPCPs in both influent and effluent samples of the investigated WWTPs revealed that the discharge of inadequately treated effluents could be contributing to the possible increase in the concentrations of these contaminants in the receiving environmental compartments. Further studies must be focused on the broader characterisation of these matrices in order to assess the potential ecological impacts of this waste disposal practice.