Occurrence and analysis of selected pharmaceutical compounds in soil from Spanish agricultural fields

This work describes the analysis of 15 pharmaceutical compounds, belonging to different therapeutic classes (anti-inflammatory/analgesics, lipid regulators, antiepileptics, β-blockers and antidepressants) and with diverse physical–chemical properties, in Spanish soils with different farmland uses. The studied compounds were extracted from soil by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and determined, after derivatization, by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC–MS). The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.14 ng g^?1 (naproxen) to 0.65 ng g^?1 (amitriptyline). At least two compounds where detected in all samples, being ibuprofen, salicylic acid, and paracetamol, the most frequently detected compounds. The highest levels found in soil were 47 ng g^?1 for allopurinol and 37 ng g^?1 for salicylic acid. The influence of the type of crop and the sampling area on the levels of pharmaceuticals in soil, as well as their relationship with soil physical–chemical properties, was studied. The frequent and widespread detection of some of these compounds in agricultural soils show a diffuse contamination, although the low levels found do not pose a risk to the environment or the human health.