Chemical Fate and Partitioning Behavior of Antibiotics in the Aquatic Environment—A Review

Antibiotics in the aquatic environment is a major problem because of the emergence of antibiotic resistance. The long‐term ecological impact on the aquatic environment is unknown. Many sources allow entry of antibiotics into the environment, including wastewater‐treatment plants (WWTPs), agricultura...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental toxicology and chemistry 2021-12, Vol.40 (12), p.3275-3298
Main Authors: Harrower, Jamie, McNaughtan, Moyra, Hunter, Colin, Hough, Rupert, Zhang, Zulin, Helwig, Karin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural runoff
Agricultural wastes
Anions
Anti-Bacterial Agents - analysis
Antibiotic resistance
Antibiotics
Aquatic environment
Cations
Chemical behavior
China
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Effluent treatment
Effluents
Environmental effects
Environmental impact
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental partitioning
Environmental Science
Environmental transport
Fate and transport
Fluoroquinolones
Hospital wastes
Ionic strength
Landfills
Leachates
Medical wastes
Miljövetenskap
Seasonal variations
Sewage - analysis
Sludge
Sulfonamides
Tetracyclines
Waste disposal sites
Waste Water - chemistry
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment plants
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
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Summary:Antibiotics in the aquatic environment is a major problem because of the emergence of antibiotic resistance. The long‐term ecological impact on the aquatic environment is unknown. Many sources allow entry of antibiotics into the environment, including wastewater‐treatment plants (WWTPs), agricultural runoff, hospital effluent, and landfill leachate. Concentrations of antibiotics in the aquatic environment vary significantly; studies have shown fluoroquinolones, tetracycline, macrolides, sulfonamides, and penicillins to reach 2900, 1500, 9700, 21 400, and 1600 ng L–1 in wastewater effluent samples, respectively. However, concentrations are highly variable between different countries and depend on several factors including seasonal variation, prescription, and WWTP operating procedures. Likewise, the reported concentrations that cause environmental effects vary greatly between antibiotics, even within the same class; however, this predicted concentration for the antibiotics considered was frequently
ISSN:0730-7268
1552-8618
1552-8618
DOI:10.1002/etc.5191