Istanbul Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department, Maslak, 34469 Istanbul, Turkey; National Research Center on Membrane Technologies, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak, 34469 Istanbul, Turkey.
Istanbul Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department, Maslak, 34469 Istanbul, Turkey.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Nov 1;949:175014. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175014. Epub 2024 Jul 24.
In recent years especially during COVID-19, the increased usage of antiviral drugs has led to increased interest in monitoring their presence in wastewater worldwide. In this study, it was examined the occurrence, fate and environmental risks of favipiravir which is used for COVID-19 treatment in two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with different treatment processes in Istanbul, Turkey. Favipiravir was measured in WWTPs influent samples, effluent samples and sludge samples with maximum concentrations of 97 μg/L, 64.11 μg/L and 182.47 μg/g, respectively. Favipiravir had removal efficiency below 55 % for both WWTPs. Mass balance analysis showed that favipiravir removal in WWTPs mainly attributed to biodegradation/biotransformation. Statistical analysis revealed a significant correlation between favipiravir concentration and COVID-19 incidence in Istanbul. The microbial distribution analysis indicated that comparison of collected COVID-19 pandemic sludge and post-pandemic period sludge samples, a noteworthy reduction in the Chloroflexi and Actinobacteriota phyla at the phylum level was observed. Environmental risk assessment using risk quotients ranged from 168 to 704, indicating that the presence of this antiviral drug posed significant ecological risks to aquatic organisms. The study concluded that WWTPs were releasing antiviral drugs into the environment, thereby posing risks to both the aquatic ecosystem and public health. The results of this study demonstrate the persistence of favipiravir in WWTPs and offer crucial supporting data for further research into the advancement of wastewater treatment technology. Also, this study shows wastewater based monitoring is supplementary and early warning system for determining the occurrence of antiviral drugs.
近年来，尤其是在 COVID-19 期间，抗病毒药物的使用增加，导致人们对全球范围内监测其在废水中存在的兴趣增加。在这项研究中，研究了在土耳其伊斯坦布尔的两个具有不同处理工艺的污水处理厂（WWTP）中，用于 COVID-19 治疗的法匹拉韦的存在、命运和环境风险。在 WWTP 的进水样、出水样和污泥样中测量了法匹拉韦，其最大浓度分别为 97μg/L、64.11μg/L 和 182.47μg/g。对于两个 WWTP，法匹拉韦的去除效率均低于 55%。质量平衡分析表明，WWTP 中法匹拉韦的去除主要归因于生物降解/生物转化。统计分析显示，伊斯坦布尔法匹拉韦浓度与 COVID-19 发病率之间存在显著相关性。微生物分布分析表明，与收集的 COVID-19 大流行污泥和大流行后期污泥样本相比，在门水平上，Chloroflexi 和 Actinobacteriota 门的数量显著减少。使用风险商数进行的环境风险评估范围从 168 到 704，表明这种抗病毒药物的存在对水生生物构成了重大的生态风险。该研究得出结论，WWTP 正在将抗病毒药物释放到环境中，从而对水生生态系统和公共健康构成威胁。该研究的结果表明法匹拉韦在 WWTP 中的持久性，并为进一步研究废水处理技术的发展提供了关键的支持数据。此外，本研究表明，基于废水的监测是补充和预警系统，用于确定抗病毒药物的出现。
