Dept. of Engineering, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat 1, I-44122 Ferrara, Italy.
Sci Total Environ. 2012 Jul 15;430:109-18. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.04.055. Epub 2012 May 25.
A study was conducted in an area in north, Italy, on the effluent of two different sized hospitals and the influent and effluent of the receiving municipal treatment plant of one of the examined hospitals. The aim was to investigate 73 selected pharmaceuticals, belonging to twelve different classes, comparing their occurrence in the effluent directly exiting the hospital with that, mixed with the local urban effluent, at the point of its entry and exit from the treatment plant. Consistent differences were found in the concentrations of some antibiotics, analgesics and lipid regulators in the two wastewaters, confirming that hospital effluents should not be considered as possessing the same pollutant nature as urban wastewater. Furthermore, analysis of percentage contributions of the hospital to the treatment plant influent evidences that hospitals represent one of the main sources of pollutants, in particular antibiotics, receptor antagonists and lipid regulators. Hence, an environmental risk assessment, performed on the effluent from the hospital and the influent and effluent from the treatment plant, revealed a high risk for 9 pharmaceuticals in hospital effluent and for 4 of the 9 substances in the treatment plant influent and effluent, with antibiotics being the most critical compounds in terms of contribution and potential environmental risk for the hospital.
一项研究在意大利北部的一个地区进行，研究对象是两家不同规模医院的废水，以及其中一家医院的接收城市处理厂的进水和出水。目的是调查 73 种属于 12 个不同类别的选定药物，比较它们在直接从医院排出的废水中的存在情况，以及在与当地城市废水混合后，在进入和离开处理厂时的存在情况。在两种废水中，一些抗生素、镇痛药和脂质调节剂的浓度存在明显差异，这证实了医院废水不应被视为具有与城市废水相同的污染性质。此外，对医院对处理厂进水的贡献百分比的分析表明，医院是污染物的主要来源之一，特别是抗生素、受体拮抗剂和脂质调节剂。因此，对医院废水以及处理厂进水和出水的环境风险评估显示，医院废水中有 9 种药物存在高风险，处理厂进水和出水中有 4 种药物存在高风险，其中抗生素是最关键的化合物，无论是从其对医院的贡献还是潜在的环境风险来看都是如此。
