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Frequency and use of pharmaceuticals in selected Slovakian town via wastewater analysis

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze pharmaceuticals in wastewater from eight selected wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Slovakia. We analyzed 125 pharmaceutical compounds and selected 14 from the most common therapeutic classes, i.e., antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, azithromycin, and clarithromycin), antifungal (fluconazole and clotrimazole), antihistaminic (fexofenadine and meclozine), antithrombotic (dipyridamole), hypertension (eprosartan, telmisartan, and valsartan), analgetics (diclofenac), and psychiatric (tramadol and carbamazepine). The results show the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater in concentrations ranging from low ng dm−3 to a few µg dm−3. The highest maximum concentrations were detected for cardiovascular pharmaceuticals (32.98 µg dm−3 valsartan; 17.10 µg dm−3 telmisartan) and antibiotics (25.66 µg dm−3 ciprofloxacin, 13.98 µg dm−3 clarithromycin). We also analyzed the daily load of pharmaceuticals compounds in Slovak WWTPs. The study shows that telmisartan has the highest median load (2270 mg/day/1000 inhabitants) followed by ciprofloxacin (2210 mg/day/1000 inhabitants) in Piešťany town.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the Contract No. APVV 0122-12, the CENAKVA CZ. 1.05/2.1.00/01.0024 project and the grant scheme for the support of young scientists excellent teams at STU in Bratislava “Výskyt liečiv, drog a rezistentných typov baktérií v odpadových vodách zo zdravotných zariadení na Slovensku a ich možné odstránenie pomocou progresívnych procesov”. We are grateful to our collaborators at the various WWTPs who made this study possible by providing us with the wastewater samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinského 9, 812 37, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    Milota Fáberová, Igor Bodík, Lucia Ivanová & Tomáš Mackuľak

  2. Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Zátiší 728/II, 389 25, Vodňany, Czech Republic

    Roman Grabic

Authors
  1. Milota Fáberová
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  2. Igor Bodík
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  3. Lucia Ivanová
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  4. Roman Grabic
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  5. Tomáš Mackuľak
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Correspondence to Milota Fáberová.

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Fáberová, M., Bodík, I., Ivanová, L. et al. Frequency and use of pharmaceuticals in selected Slovakian town via wastewater analysis. Monatsh Chem 148, 441–448 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00706-016-1853-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00706-016-1853-0

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