Assessing the Discharge of Pharmaceuticals Along the Dutch Coast of the North Sea - Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology - page 7

Amoxicillin
Anhydro-erytromycin
Azitromycin
Claritromycin
Clindamycin
Doxycyclin
Enrofloxacin
Erytromycin
Flumequin
Lincomycin
Ofloxacin
Oxolinic acid
Oxytetracyclin
Roxitromycin
Spiramycin
Sulfadiazine
Sulfadimethoxine
Sulfadimidine
Sulfamerazin
Sulfamethoxazol
Trimethoprim
Tylosin
Dimetridazol
Monensin
Acetylsalicylic acid
Aminofenazon
Diclofenac
Fenazon
Fenoprofen
Ibuprofen (method 1)
Ibuprofen (method 3)
Indomethacin
Ketoprofen
Naproxen
Paracetamol
Diatrizoic acid
Iohexol
Iomeprol
Iopamidol
Iopromide
Iothalamic acid
Ioxaglinic acid
Ioxithalamic acid
Bezafibrate
Clofibric acid
Fenofibric acid
Gemfibrozil
Pentoxiphylline
Atenolol
Bisoprolol
Metoprolol
Propranolol
Sotalol
Mebendazol
Terbutalin
Carbamazepine
Primidon
Lidocaine
Malachite green oxalate

Antibiotics
Anthelmintics /
veterinary antibiotics
Analgesics / antipyretics/
anti-inflammatory
X-ray contrast media
Fibrates / lipid regulators
Beta blockers
Others

0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000

Concentration (ng / L)

Fig. 2 Box-whisker plot of pharmaceutical concentrations in surface water of the Netherlands
between 1996 and 2005 (• outlier)

Fig. 2 shows that only 58 of the 102 pharmaceuticals listed in the database have,
in one or more surface-water samples, concentrations above the LOD. Concentrations
of pharmaceuticals in Dutch surface water varied from 0.02 ng L −1 (oxolinic acid in
surface water from Nieuwersluis) to 830 ng L −1 (diclofenac in surface water from
the river Meuse at Roosteren). The highest median concentrations in surface water
were observed for X-ray contrast media, with median concentrations ranging from
25 to 145 ng L −1 . The pharmaceuticals with the highest median concentration of each