Search

Abstract: The occurrence and fate of residues from the therapeutic use of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug metamizole have been studied in investigations of sewage effluents from a military hospital, municipal sewers and a sewage treatment plant (STP) in Berlin, Germany. The loads of the metabolites aminoantipyrin (AA), 4-acetylaminoantipyrin (AAA) and 4-formyl-aminoantipyrin (FAA), rapidly formed after the application of metamizole, were predicted from pharmacokinetic data and based on the evaluation of extensive data sets of on the administration in hospitals and private households. In parallel, the actual concentrations were measured within three field trials. For the military hospital, the estimated average annual discharges of AA/AAA and FAA were 10.5 and 3.2kg, respectively. For the STP, annual loads of 333 and 133 kg were determined for AA/AAA and FAA, respectively. During sewage treatment, an average decrease of 26% of the loads was measured for AA/AAA whereas no changes were observed for FAA. Generally, the prediction of the loads resulted in an overestimation of the residue levels compared to those measured in the respective sewers. Thus, modeling of predicted loads or concentrations alone will not be sufficient for a realistic assessment. Concerns for human or other mammals’ health are not expected from the occurrence of metamizole residues in the aquatic system measured at concentrations up to 7μgl−1 in STP effluents. However, a rest of uncertainty remains as it was not possible to derive a no observed effect level for the induction of rare but potentially fatal toxicological side effects reported for metamizole. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A reliable and sensitive analytical method for the determination of estrone (E1), 17β- estradiol (E2), and the synthetic hormone 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) has been established. Samples are concentrated using automated solid-phase extraction and analysis is performed by liquid chromatography with detection by tandem mass spectrometry. Recoveries of all analytes were between 93% and 107%, and limits of quantification (LOQs) between 0.1 and 0.4 ng/L for purified sewage, and surface, ground, and drinking water, and between 1 and 2 ng/L in case of raw sewage. For the investigation of estrogen release into the environment and its behavior during sewage and surface water treatment, and during ground water recharge, samples from municipal waste water treatment plants (WWTPs), a surface water treatment plant, a bank filtration site, and a ground water enrichment (GWE) pond were analyzed. E1 was found in the raw waste water with an average concentration of 157 ng/L, whereas E2 and EE2 were found with mean concentrations of only 18 and 9 ng/L, respectively. Sewage treatment by municipal WWTPs affected a removal of EE2 (76%), E1 (92%), and E2 (94%). In the investigated surface water of Berlin, only E1 could be detected at concentrations around or below 1 ng/L. E2 and EE2 were not present in the Berlin surface water above the LOQ of 0.2 ng/L, respectively. Surface water treatment also leads to a significant removal of E1 (> 80%). In the ground water samples from the GWE site near Lake Tegel, only a few samples contained detectable concentrations of E1. These samples were collected from a shallow monitoring well located very close to the bank of the pond. Even a short distance between the bank and observation wells led to concentrations of E1 below the LOQ showing the potential of ground water recharge systems for the retention of estrogenic steroids depending on the environmental setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the fate and transport of endocrine-disrupting compounds and other organic wastewater compounds released into the environment and their potential presence in drinking water is in its infancy. Studies conducted during the last decade in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Berlin, Germany, indicate that removal of less polar compounds probably can be obtained through bank filtration, ground-water enrichment, and additional drinking-water and wastewater treatment processes. Polar compounds, such as atrazine and some metabolites, occur in drinking water obtained from contaminated surface water or ground water, but at concentrations generally lower than those occurring in wastewater and surface water. The results of the studies also suggest that concentrations of nonpolar estrogenic compounds decrease during drinking-water pretreatment processes such as bank filtration and ground-water enrichment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]