Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece.
Sci Total Environ. 2014 Jan 1;466-467:421-38. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.07.044. Epub 2013 Aug 7.
In the present work, an extensive study on the presence of eighteen pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in eight wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of Greece has been conducted. The study covered four sampling periods over 1-year, where samples (influents; effluents) from eight WWTPs of various cities in Greece were taken. All WWTPs investigated are equipped with conventional activated sludge treatment. A common pre-concentration step based on SPE was applied, followed by LC-UV/Vis-ESI-MS. Further confirmation of positive findings was accomplished by using LC coupled to a high resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometer. The results showed the occurrence of all target compounds in the wastewater samples with concentrations up to 96.65 μg/L. Paracetamol, caffeine, trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, diclofenac and salicylic acid were the dominant compounds, while tolfenamic acid, fenofibrate and simvastatin were the less frequently detected compounds with concentrations in effluents below the LOQ. The removal efficiencies showed that many WWTPs were unable to effectively remove most of the PPCPs investigated. Finally, the study provides an assessment of the environmental risk posed by their presence in wastewaters by means of the risk quotient (RQ). RQs were more than unity for various compounds in the effluents expressing possible threat for the aquatic environment. Triclosan was found to be the most critical compound in terms of contribution and environmental risk, concluding that it should be seriously considered as a candidate for regulatory monitoring and prioritization on a European scale on the basis of realistic PNECs. The results of the extensive monitoring study contributed to a better insight on PPCPs in Greece and their presence in influent and effluent wastewaters. Furthermore, the unequivocal identification of two transformation products of trimethoprim in real wastewaters by using the advantages of the LTQ Orbitrap capabilities provides information that should be taken into consideration in future PPCP monitoring studies in wastewaters.
在本工作中，对希腊 8 个污水处理厂（WWTP）中存在的 18 种药物和个人护理产品（PPCP）进行了广泛的研究。该研究涵盖了 1 年中的 4 个采样期，采集了来自希腊各个城市的 8 个 WWTP 的样品（进水；出水）。所有调查的 WWTP 均配备了常规活性污泥处理。应用了基于 SPE 的常见预浓缩步骤，然后进行 LC-UV/Vis-ESI-MS 分析。通过使用与高分辨率轨道阱质谱仪耦合的 LC 进一步确认阳性发现。结果表明，所有目标化合物均存在于废水样品中，浓度高达 96.65μg/L。对乙酰氨基酚、咖啡因、甲氧苄啶、磺胺甲恶唑、卡马西平、双氯芬酸和水杨酸是主要化合物，而托芬那酸、非诺贝特和辛伐他汀是较少检出的化合物，其在废水中的浓度低于 LOQ。去除效率表明，许多 WWTP 无法有效去除大多数研究的 PPCP。最后，该研究通过风险商数（RQ）评估了其在废水中存在对环境造成的风险。对于废水中的各种化合物，RQ 均大于 1，表示对水生环境可能存在威胁。三氯生被认为是最具关键性的化合物，从贡献和环境风险方面来看，它应该在欧洲范围内作为监管监测和优先排序的候选物进行认真考虑，基于现实的 PNECs。广泛监测研究的结果有助于更好地了解希腊的 PPCP 及其在进水和出水废水中的存在。此外，利用 LTQ Orbitrap 功能的优势，在实际废水中鉴定出甲氧苄啶的两种转化产物，为未来废水中 PPCP 监测研究提供了应考虑的信息。
