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Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem worldwide. The emergence and rapid spread of antibiotic resistance determinants have led to an increasing concern about the potential environmental and public health endangering. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play an important role in this phenomenon since antibacterial drugs introduced into wastewater can exert a selection pressure on antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Therefore, WWTPs are perceived as the main sources of antibiotics, ARB and ARG spread in various environmental components. Furthermore, technological processes used in WWTPs and its exploitation conditions may influence the effectiveness of antibiotic resistance determinants&rsquo, elimination. The main aim of the present study was to compare the occurrence of selected tetracycline and sulfonamide resistance genes in raw influent and final effluent samples from two WWTPs different in terms of size and applied biological wastewater treatment processes (conventional activated sludge (AS)-based and combining a conventional AS-based method with constructed wetlands (CWs)). All 13 selected ARGs were detected in raw influent and final effluent samples from both WWTPs. Significant ARG enrichment, especially for tet(B, K, L, O) and sulIII genes, was observed in conventional WWTP. The obtained data did not show a clear trend in seasonal fluctuations in the abundance of selected resistance genes in wastewaters.

In this study, an ASE (Accelerated Solvent extraction)-SPE (Solid Phase Extraction)-GC/MS(SIM) method for the simultaneous determination of five non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs: ibuprofen (IBU), paracetamol (PAR), diclofenac (DIC), naproxen (NAP) and ketoprofen (KET)) and three natural estrogens (estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3)) in mussels was proposed, which is simple, cheap and easy for use in environmental laboratories. For the first time, the sorbents: PSA (Primary Secondary Amine) and FLORISIL®, placed directly inside the extraction cells, were used for the improvement of the ASE procedure for the isolation of these pollutants from mussel samples. The application of FLORISIL® especially allowed the purification of the extract to increase recovery, without the loss of analytes, or prolongation of the extraction time. The proposed ASE-SPE-GC/MS(SIM) method was validated (the method detection limit values were in the range of 1 ng/g dry weight (d.w.) for IBU to 7 ng/g d.w. for E1; the measurement intermediate precision was between 0.24% and 7.85%; the mean recovery was in the range of 80–118%) and used for the determination of NSAIDs and estrogenic hormones in whole tissue of the mussels Mytilus edulis trossulus collected from the Gulf of Gdansk (southern Baltic Sea). IBU, NAP, DIC and E1 were determined in these samples; however, the pharmaceuticals were found only in smaller (with a length of 2–3 cm) individuals. The observed differences in the concentrations of CEC in smaller and older mussel organisms were fully discussed. Summarizing, this method could be used for monitoring these CEC in such organisms in order to expand our knowledge of their influence on the water ecosystem, however, in such investigations smaller mussel organisms should be used.

At the end of August 2019, in Warsaw, the sewage collection system of the Wastewater Treatment Plant malfunctioned. During the subsequent 12 days, over 3.6 million m3 of untreated sewage was introduced from the damaged collector directly into the Vistula River. It is one of the biggest known failures of its kind in the world so far. In this study we investigated to what extent the incident contributed to the increased discharge of anti-inflammatory drugs into the environment. The study covered the section from the point of discharge to the city of Torun (ca. 170 km downstream). It was found that in the river waters downstream of the damaged collector, the concentrations of selected pharmaceuticals increased considerably in comparison with the waters upstream of the collector. The highest concentrations were observed for paracetamol (102.9 μg/L), ibuprofen (5.3 μg/L) and diclofenac (4.8 μg/L). We also measured to what extent and at what rate these pollutants were distributed along the river. The effects of the incident were observed in further parts of the river after 16 days. In the study we also detected elevated concentrations of ibuprofen and diclofenac in the bottom sediments collected 6 weeks after the failure. Measurements of the levels of pharmaceuticals in estuarial and marine waters in the vicinity of the mouth of the Vistula River indicate that the incident did not significantly increase the load of these pollutants in the waters of the southern Baltic Sea.

The problem of the presence of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the environment is closely related to municipal wastewater and in consequence to municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs) because wastewater is the main way in which these compounds are transferred to the ecosystem. For this reason, the development of cheap, simple but very effective techniques for the removal of such residues from wastewater is very important. In this study, the analysis of the potential of using three new plants: Cyperus papyrus (Papyrus), Lysimachia nemorum (Yellow pimpernel), and Euonymus europaeus (European spindle) by hydroponic cultivation for the removal of 15 selected pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in an MWWTP is presented. In order to obtain the most reliable data, this study was performed using real WWTP conditions and with the determination of the selected analytes in untreated sewage, treated sewage, and in plant materials. For determining the target compounds in plant materials, an Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE)-Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE)-GC-MS(SIM) method was developed and validated. The obtained data proved that the elimination efficiency of the investigated substances from wastewater was in the range of 35.8% for diflunisal to above 99.9% for paracetamol, terbutaline, and flurbiprofen. Lysimachia nemorum was the most effective for the uptake of target compounds among the tested plant species. Thus, the application of constructed wetlands for supporting conventional MWWTPs allowed a significant increase in their removal from the wastewater stream.