Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
wastewater and solid wastes discharge from pharmaceutical industries; hormones
and antibiotics used in aquacultures; hormones and drugs used in livestock; com-
pounds excreted from the human body in the form of non-metabolized parent
molecules or as metabolites after ingestion and subsequent excretion, as well as
the disposal of unused or expired medicinal products (Pal et al.
2010
; Hernández
et al.
2007
; Pérez and Barceló
2007a
,
b
; Nakada et al.
2008
). The percentage of
parent compound from the human body is 6-39 or
≥
70 % for various antibiotics,
6-39 or
≤
5 % for analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs,
≤
5 % for antiepilep-
tic drugs (e.g. Carbamazepine), <0.5 or 50-90 % for beta-blockers, and 40-69 %
for blood lipid regulators such as bezafibrate (Pal et al.
2010
; Mompelat et al.
2009
). The key entry route for pharmaceutical contaminants into natural waters is
the point-source release from wastewater treatment plants (Daughton and Ternes
1999
; Heberer
2002
). Pharmaceuticals can also enter surface waters by run-off
from fields treated with digested sludge (Farré et al.
2008
). Veterinary drugs and
their metabolites are transported through leaching or run-off from livestock slur-
ries when liquid manure is sprayed on agricultural field waters (Farré et al.
2008
).
Personal care products (PCPs) (e.g. fragrances) can be discharged into aquatic
ecosystems through shower waste and finally from waste water treatment plants
(Farré et al.
2008
; Rimkus and Wolf
1996
; Käfferlein et al.
1998
; Smital et al.
2004
; Peck
2006
). UV filters used in sunscreens, cosmetics, and other PCPs are
persistent in chlorinated water. Several halogenated by-products have been iden-
tified, which can cause endocrine and developmental toxicity and estrogenicity
(Kunz and Fent
2006
; Negreira et al.
2008
; Schmitt et al.
2008
). Synthetic musk
compounds are widely used as fragrance additives in many personal care prod-
ucts, such as cleaning agents, air fresheners, house-hold products, perfumes,
lotions, sunscreens, and laundry detergents (Richardson and Ternes
2011
; Rimkus
and Wolf
1996
; Käfferlein et al.
1998
; Smital et al.
2004
). Steroids are excreted
in urine of humans as more hydrophilic glucuronides and sulfates, and free ster-
oids and conjugates are detected in sewage influent and effluent (Ascenzo et al.
2003
; Reddy et al.
2005
). Livestock wastes are potential sources of endocrine dis-
rupting compounds and of steroidal estrogen hormones such as estradiol, estrone
and estriol in natural waters (Raman et al.
2001
; Hanselman et al.
2003
; Furuichi
et al.
2006
). Steroids were detected in more than 86 % of water samples from
creeks where the cattle had direct access to the water (Kolodziej and Sedlak
2007
).
Sources and pathways of xenohormone uptake by humans are mostly inhala-
tion (e.g., from indoor air), dermal absorption (e.g., from personal care products),
and ingestion of food (Wagner and Oehlmann
2009
). Another source of xenobiot-
ics in foodstuff is the substances migrating from the packaging material, which can
accumulate in the foodstuff. A variety of additives, such as stabilizers, antioxidants,
coupling agents and pigments are used to optimize the properties of packaging mate-
rials, which include for instance durability, elasticity and color (Lau and Wong
2000
;
Casajuana and Lacorte
2003
; Zygoura et al.
2005
; Fankhauser-Noti et al.
2006
).
Dioxane is a high production chemical that is used as solvent stabilizer in the
manufacture and processing of paper, cotton, textile products, automotive coolants,
cosmetics and shampoos, as well as a stabilizer in 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), a
