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Urban wastewaters contain pharmaceuticals that are not appropriately removed in conventional wastewater treatments, limiting treated water reuse. Microalgae have been shown to remove pharmaceuticals from urban wastewater in laboratory trials, but few studies have been conducted under natural conditions. In this work, pharmaceutical removal was assessed in a pilot-scale microalgal tertiary wastewater treatment in real conditions. Even after secondary treatment, the water contained measurable amounts of pharmaceuticals (an average of 218.4 ng/L) that significantly decreased to 39.83 ng/L at the exit of the microalgal system. Pharmaceuticals’ average removal rates were slightly higher in the summer (79.1%) than in autumn (71.1%). Antibiotics and antipsychotics were better removed (88.8 and 86.4%, respectively) than antihypertensives (75.3%) and others (Bezafibrate and Diclofenac; 64.0%). Physicochemical characteristics of the wastewater influenced pharmaceutical removal; significant positive correlations were observed between anti-hypertensive drug removal and ammonium concentration (r = 0.53; p < 0.05), total nitrogen and total pharmaceutical removal (r = 0.46; p < 0.05), and total nitrogen and antipsychotic drug removal (r = 0.47; p < 0.05). The results demonstrate the effectiveness of microalgal tertiary treatment in the removal of pharmaceuticals. DL 57/2016—Norma transitória (REF. DL-57-2016/ICETA/02) info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Human biomonitoring (HBM) data provide information on total exposure regardless of the route and sources of exposure. HBM studies have been applied to quantify human exposure to contaminants and environmental/occupational pollutants by determining the parent compounds, their metabolites or even their reaction products in biological matrices. HBM studies performed among the Portuguese population are disperse and limited. To overcome this knowledge gap, this review gathers, for the first time, the published Portuguese HBM information concerning polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, metalloids, and pesticides concentrations detected in the urine, serum, milk, hair, and nails of different groups of the Portuguese population. This integrative insight of available HBM data allows the analysis of the main determinants and patterns of exposure of the Portuguese population to these selected hazardous compounds, as well as assessment of the potential health risks. Identification of the main difficulties and challenges of HBM through analysis of the enrolled studies was also an aim. Ultimately, this study aimed to support national and European policies promoting human health and summarizes the most important outcomes and lessons learned through the HBM studies carried out in Portugal, This work received financial support from European (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia project UIDB/QUI/50006/2020) funds. Authors are also grateful to FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia for the financial support through the projects “PCIF/SSO/0017/2018-A panel of (bio)markers for the surveillance of firefighters’ health and safety” and “PCIF/SSO/0090/2019-Firefighting occupational exposure and early effects on the health of operational forces”, which are funded by Portuguese National Funds. M. Oliveira thanks to FCT/MCTES for the CEEC-Individual 2017 Program Contract: CEECIND/03666/2017. L. Silva thanks FCT/MCTES for funding through program DL 57/2016–Norma transitória (REF. DL-57–2016/ICETA/02).

Human biomonitoring (HBM) data provide information on total exposure regardless of the route and sources of exposure. HBM studies have been applied to quantify human exposure to contaminants and environmental/occupational pollutants by means of determining the parent compounds, their metabolites, or even their reaction products in biological matrices. HBM studies performed among the Portuguese population are dispersed and limited. Thus, to overcome this knowledge gap, this work reviews the published Portuguese HBM information concerning mycotoxins detected in the urine, serum, milk, hair, and nails of different groups of the Portuguese population. This integrative approach to the available HBM data allows us to analyze the main determinants and patterns of exposure of the Portuguese population to the selected hazardous compounds, as well as to assess the potential health risks. We also aimed to identify the main difficulties and challenges of HBM through the analysis of the enrolled studies. Ultimately, this study aims to support national and European policies in promoting human health by summarizing the most important outcomes and lessons learned through the HBM studies carried out in Portugal, This work received financial support from European (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia project UIDB/QUI/50006/2020) funds. The authors are also grateful to the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for the financial support through the projects “PCIF/SSO/0017/2018-A panel of (bio)markers for the surveillance of firefighter’s health and safety” and “PCIF/SSO/0090/2019-Firefighting occupational exposure and early effects on the health of operational forces”, which are funded by Portuguese National Funds. M. Oliveira thanks FCT/MCTES for the CEEC-Individual 2017 Program Contract: CEECIND/03666/2017. L. Silva thanks FCT/MCTES for funding through program DL 57/2016—Norma transitória (REF. DL-57-2016/ICETA/02)