Assessment of Pharmaceuticals Fate in a Model Environment

A multiphase model based on the Mackay-type level II fugacity model has been used to predict the behaviour and final environmental concentrations of some of the more consumed pharmaceuticals in Spain. The model takes into account the mean rate of consumption of pharmaceuticals, the percentage of pha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water, air, and soil pollution air, and soil pollution, 2011-06, Vol.218 (1-4), p.413-422
Main Authors: Domènech, Xavier, Ribera, Marc, Peral, José
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analgesics
Analysis
Applied sciences
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Biodegradation
Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts
Consumption (Economics)
Drugs
Earth and Environmental Science
Environment
Environmental degradation
Environmental impact
Environmental monitoring
Exact sciences and technology
Hydrogeology
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Organic compounds
Pharmaceuticals
Pollutants
Pollution
Purification
Retention
Sediments
Sewage
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment plants
Sludge
Soil Science & Conservation
Studies
Suspended matter
VOCs
Volatile organic compounds
Wastewater treatment plants
Water Quality/Water Pollution
Water resources
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Summary:A multiphase model based on the Mackay-type level II fugacity model has been used to predict the behaviour and final environmental concentrations of some of the more consumed pharmaceuticals in Spain. The model takes into account the mean rate of consumption of pharmaceuticals, the percentage of pharmaceutical metabolised, the formation of the corresponding glucuronide, which is assumed to be hydrolysed back to the parent molecule, the partial degradation of each pharmaceutical in a conventional sewage treatment plant, and the fate of these substances in a regional model environmental system. Predicted environmental concentrations in air, water, soil, sediments and suspended matter, and the corresponding residence time for each pharmaceutical have been obtained by application of the model. The predicted concentrations of pharmaceuticals in the water phase are of the same order than the measured experimentally, showing that the simple model used to predict the environmental concentrations is suitable for modelling the environmental fate of high water soluble and low volatile organic compounds such as pharmaceuticals products.
ISSN:0049-6979
1573-2932
DOI:10.1007/s11270-010-0655-y