Projects / Programmes
Pharmaceutical and personal care product residues in the environment: Occurence, sources, treatment and effects
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 1.08.00 |
Natural sciences and mathematics |
Control and care of the environment |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| T270 |
Technological sciences |
Environmental technology, pollution control |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 1.05 |
Natural Sciences |
Earth and related Environmental sciences |
pharmaceutical residues, personal care products, environment, sources, fate, cycling
Researchers (29)
Organisations (6)
Abstract
Emerging environmental contaminants are not necessarily new chemicals, but are defined as substances that have often long been present in the environment but whose presence and significance are only now being elucidated. They commonly derive from municipal, agricultural, and industrial wastewater sources and pathways. The newly recognized contaminants represent a shift in traditional thinking as many are produced industrially but are also dispersed to the environment from domestic and commercial sources. Their presence is of concern due to possible adverse effects to human and the general wellbeing of ecosystems, especially since significant gaps in our knowledge exist concerning their presence, cycling, effects and eventual fate.
One of the emerging groups of organic pollutants of special concern is pharmaceutical and personal care product (PPCP) residues. PPCP refers to any product used by individuals for personal health or cosmetic reasons or used by agribusiness to enhance either the growth or health of livestock. The major goal of this project is to provide information on these compounds in order to evaluate their potential threat to ecosystem’s wellbeing and consequently to human health. To accomplish this goal, we will within the research activities of this project develop ultra-trace level analytical methods to quantify PPCP residues (parent compounds, metabolites-if applicable, and environmental transformation products) in different matrices (e.g. water, sediment). Sophisticated analytical procedures including hyphenated gas and liquid chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques will be applied to evaluate their occurrence. Initially, sources and pathways by which contaminants enter the environment and those compartments, which will be sampled, will be selected according to physicochemical parameters. Also, processes that define their fate in the environment will be characterised and quantified based on screening various advanced treatment processes. These include UV degradation, photocatalysis, degradation in cavitation chamber, ozonation, oxidation with chlorine dioxide in combination with classical activated sludge (aerobic, anaerobic) and will be studied using a laboratory scale wastewater treatment plant and each assessed for efficacy for removing PPCP residues. The most efficient combination will be selected not only according to removal of PPCP residues but also according to potential toxic effects. Nevertheless, PPCP residues may be considered as model compounds, i.e. the representatives of trace persistent polar organic pollutants. In this sense, the proposed treatment technologies may also be applied to other industrial branches dealing with the elimination of organic micropollutants in the discharges.
Co-financing organisations and end-of-pipe users will actively take part in this proposal by contributing their knowledge, needs and experiences. The project coordinator (Jožef Stefan Institute), the research groups: University of Ljubljana Faculty of Civil Engineering and Faculty for Chemistry and Chemical Technology, National Institute of Biology, Ecological Engineering Institute, VO-KA Waste Water Treatment Plant Ljubljana, and co-financing organisations and end-of-pipe users: Central Waste Water Treatment Plant Domžale-Kamnik, VO-KA Waste Water Treatment Plant Ljubljana, Ecological Engineering Institute and the University Medical Centre - Oncological Institute Ljubljana, collaborating in the project all have excellent references and have successfully completed numerous projects on this scale, which forms a good foundation for carrying out the proposed research. Importantly, the project is also supported by CSIC, EAWAG and Hoffman LaRoche.
Overall, the project outcomes will raise awareness related to the effects of PPCP released into the environment and the potential threat that they pose to aquatic biota and human health. We will share and disseminate the results through various media outlets.
Significance for science
The elements of originality in project were: - Identification of sources of PPCP residues in Slovene environment Two “source-WWTP-receiving body” catchments were followed with an emphasis on source identification. This project was the first of a kind undertaken in Slovenia. The work was of interest to PPCP sources and treatment bodies, and to the general public since our aim was to create awareness of the adverse effects of the over use and improper disposal of unused PPCPs. - Occurrence and cycling in Slovene environment This project intended to go further by not only using grab, flow or time proportional sampling, but also to use passive samplers. This novel approach allowed contaminants to be detected at ultra-low levels. Our aims was also to develop novel in-house passive samplers specifically to trap structurally diverse compounds. - Formation and identification transformation product The identification of novel transformation products, formed during water treatment or in the environment, added a new dimension to current research. The complexity of the task means that it has been restricted to only a few laboratories worldwide of which those in this research consortium are representative. The Organic Analytical Chemistry group, Department of Environmental Sciences, JSI, is a leader in this field. In addition, the European institutions CSIC and EAWAG supported our research. - Toxicology: Testing the toxicity of transformation products, and their interactive effects in mixtures of transformation products/ metabolites and parent compounds are novel approaches in assessing the environmental impact of PPCP residues. The main drawback of previous studies of organic micropollutants was that they only focused on the parent compounds. However, compounds in the environment occur in mixtures and may, as a result, induce interactive (synergistic) effects in ecosystems. This project addressed and compared both, single compound and mixture effects in artificial and environmental samples. The project combined research in analytical chemistry, ecotechnology and toxicology. This interdisciplinary approach improved overall interpretation of the findings. We combined the knowledge of six research groups: Jožef Stefan Institute, University of Ljubljana, National Institute of Biology, and Institute for Ecological Engineering and four end-of-pipe users: Institute for Ecological Engineering and WWTP Domžale-Kamnik, VOKA-WWTP Ljubljana and UKC-Oncological Institute. In addition renowned international research groups CSIC (Spain), EAWAG and Hoffman LaRoche (both Switzerland) supported this research. An interdisciplinary approach brought together research institutes and end-of-pipe users to propose actual solutions. The data collated resulted in publications in scientific journals of merit.
Significance for the country
PPCP residues in the environment are a decade old recognised problem. While much is known about the positive impacts of PPCP, insufficient knowledge existed on the impacts on human health and ecosystems. This made evaluating the social and economic impact difficult since any analysis relied on both quantitative and qualitative measures. A demand, therefore, existed for quantitative studies. We aimed to address this by putting numbers to levels of PCPP residues, toxicological studies and identifying sources and sinks and measuring the efficiency of conventional and advanced water treatment technologies all essential for environmental management and control. The main impacts of project results are improved water treatment technologies leading to higher environmental quality, publicly available data for environmental risk assessment, expected impact on European legislation and potential applicability in different industrial branches since PPCP and their TPs may be considered as model compounds, i.e. as representatives of trace persistent organic pollutants POP. In this sense, the proposed treatment technologies are applicable to other industrial branches dealing with elimination of POP in their discharges. Project results are unique in Slovene environment and are due to their great impact in European research sphere, of outstanding importance for Slovenia.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2013,
2014,
2015,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2013,
2014,
2015,
final report
