Evaluating the extent of pharmaceuticals in surface waters of the United States using a National‐scale Rivers and Streams Assessment survey

To assess the potential exposure of aquatic ecosystems to active pharmaceutical ingredients, the authors conducted a national‐scale, probability‐based statistical survey of the occurrence of these compounds in surface waters of the United States. The survey included 182 sampling sites and targeted r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental toxicology and chemistry 2016-04, Vol.35 (4), p.874-881
Main Authors: Batt, Angela L., Kincaid, Thomas M., Kostich, Mitchell S., Lazorchak, James M., Olsen, Anthony R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibiotics
Antidepressants
Aquatic ecosystems
Drinking Water - chemistry
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Ecosystem
Emerging pollutants
Environmental chemistry
Environmental Monitoring
Pharmaceutical industry
Pharmaceutical Preparations - analysis
Pharmaceuticals
Polls & surveys
Rivers
Rivers - chemistry
Streams
Sulfamethoxazole - analysis
Surface water
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States
Urban areas
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water quality
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Summary:To assess the potential exposure of aquatic ecosystems to active pharmaceutical ingredients, the authors conducted a national‐scale, probability‐based statistical survey of the occurrence of these compounds in surface waters of the United States. The survey included 182 sampling sites and targeted rivers with close proximity to urban areas. The 46 analytes reported represent many classes of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), including antibiotics, diuretics, antihypertensives, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants. Of the 46 analytes, 37 were detected in at least 1 sampling location. Sulfamethoxazole (an antibiotic) was the most frequently detected compound, being measured in 141 of the 182 surface waters surveyed at concentrations ranging up to 570 ng/L. Ten of the compounds were detected in 20% or more of the sampling sites. Weighted means of the analytical measurements are used with the statistical survey design and analysis to provide national estimates of the extent of contamination for these APIs in the nation's urban rivers. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:874–881. Published 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US Government work and as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
ISSN:0730-7268
1552-8618
DOI:10.1002/etc.3161