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Occurrence and Fate of Pharmaceuticals and Illicit Drugs Under Water Scarcity

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Water Scarcity in the Mediterranean

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 8))

Abstract

Occurrence of emerging contaminants in environmental waters is directly related to their removal in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and the flow rate of the receiving waters. Mediterranean rivers are characterized by important fluctuations in the flow rates and heavy contamination pressures from extensive urban, industrial, and agricultural activities. This translates in contamination levels most often higher than in other European basins. This paper reviews the data regarding the levels of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs detected in wastewaters and gives an overview of their removal by conventional treatment technologies applying activated sludge. Pharmaceutically active compounds and illicit drugs are selected as two important groups of emerging environmental contaminants that have raised an increasing interest in the scientific community. Their removal in WWTP, the influence of hydrological conditions in the receiving rivers, and dilution factors are described and examples are provided for selected WWTP and rivers in Catalonia (NE Spain).

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the EU projects MODELKEY (GOCE 511237), AQUATERRA (GOCE 505428), and INNOVA-MED (INCO-2006-517728) and by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (CTM2006-26227-E/TECNO, CTM2005-25168-E/TECNO, CTM2007-30524-E, and CGL2007-64551/HID) and reflects the author’s view. Cristina Postigo acknowledges the European Social Fund and AGAUR (Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain) for their economical support through the FI pre-doctoral grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Studies (IDAEA), Spanish Council of Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Mira Petrovic, Cristina Postigo, Miren Lopez de Alda, Antoni Ginebreda, Meritxell Gros & Jelena Radjenovic

  2. Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain

    Mira Petrovic, Cristina Postigo, Miren Lopez de Alda, Antoni Ginebreda, Meritxell Gros & Jelena Radjenovic

  3. Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Girona, Spain

    Damià Barceló

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  1. Mira Petrovic
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Correspondence to Mira Petrovic .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. d’Ecologia Aquàtica, Universitat de Girona, Campus Montivili, Girona, 17071, Spain

    Sergi Sabater

  2. Instituto Investigaciones Químicas y, Ambientales de Barcelona (IIQAB), CSIC Barcelona, Jordi Girona 18-26, Barcelona, 08034, Spain

    Damià Barceló

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Petrovic, M. et al. (2009). Occurrence and Fate of Pharmaceuticals and Illicit Drugs Under Water Scarcity. In: Sabater, S., Barceló, D. (eds) Water Scarcity in the Mediterranean. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry(), vol 8. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2009_27

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