Monitoring of pharmaceutically active compounds on the Guadalquivir River basin (Spain): occurrence and risk assessment

Guadalquivir River (South of Spain) is among the major freshwater sources of the European Atlantic basin. Until now scientific efforts have been focused on contamination by heavy metals and some priority pollutants in Guadalquivir River. However, the presence of "emerging contaminants", such as pharmaceutically active compounds, has not yet been studied. In this work the occurrence and risk assessment of sixteen pharmaceutically active compounds, belonging to different therapeutic groups, in Guadalquivir River during its course through Seville city are reported. Wastewater effluents from four wastewater treatment plants discharging into Guadalquivir River and river water samples were analyzed. All studied pharmaceutically active compounds, except sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, estrone and clofibric acid, were detected in effluent wastewaters at concentration levels up to 28.9 μg L(-1). Among the pharmaceutically active compounds found in effluent wastewater, seven were present in Guadalquivir River samples at concentration levels up to 0.75 μg L(-1), which indicated an important dilution from effluent discharge. Environmental risk assessment reveals that potential ecotoxicological risk cannot be expected on Guadalquivir River at measured concentration levels. Only, the lipid regulator gemfibrozil showed a medium risk for the environment. The risk for acute toxic effects in the environment with the current use of active pharmaceutical ingredients is unlikely. However, the results do not rule out the potential for chronic environmental effects.     

Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis as a routine tool to assess toxicant driven changes in hindgut bacterial populations of Porcellio dilatatus (Crustacea: Isopoda)

Changes in saprophytic organism's gut microbial communities may present a threat to organic matter breakdown which can ultimately lead to soil function impairment. In this study, Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA) was evaluated as a potential simple molecular tool to assess shifts in bacterial community structure in hindgut populations of Porcellio dilatatus exposed to contaminated food. This prospective tool can also be used for a variety of purposes and samples prior to the use of more specific and sophisticated methods.     

Tracking sewage derived contamination in riverine settings by analysis of synthetic surfactants

A study has been made of the presence and reactivity of the most commonly used surfactants, both anionic (linear alkylbenzene sulfonates, LAS, and alkyl ethoxysulfates, AES) and non-ionic (alcohol polyethoxylates, AEOs, and nonylphenol polyethoxylates, NPEOs), in water and surface sediments from the middle stretch of the Guadalete River in SW Spain (12 stations). Average values were between 0.1 and 3.7 mg kg(-1) in sediment, and between 0.2 and 37 μg L(-1) in water. The sorption of surfactants was dominated by hydrophobic mechanisms, so those homologues having longer alkyl chains (e.g. C(18)AEO) showed higher relative percentages and concentrations in sediments compared with water. Local and sharply higher concentrations of these compounds were observed at three sampling stations (7, 9 and 12), indicating the occurrence of wastewater discharges into the river. By analysing the distributions of different surfactant homologues and their metabolites we were able to distinguish between sewage contamination from sources discharging treated and untreated wastewaters. Upstream (stations 1-2), LAS concentrations were below 30 μg L(-1) and the composition of their degradation intermediates (sulfophenyl carboxylic acids, SPCs) (160 μg L(-1)) was dominated by short-chain homologues (C(6)-C(9)SPCs), indicating that the degradation of this surfactant is at an advanced stage. The highest concentration (487 μg L(-1)) of SPCs was detected near the effluent outlet of a sewage treatment plant (STP) (station 12). Sampling stations (7 and 9) affected by untreated wastewater discharges were the only ones showing the presence of the most reactive and biodegradable SPC isomers and homologues (e.g. C(11)SPC). Here, LAS reached the highest concentration values measured (>2 mg L(-1)), and showed a homologue distribution closer to that of commercial mixtures than LAS found at the other stations.     

Additive effects of aboveground polyphagous herbivores and soil feedback in native and range-expanding exotic plants

Plant biomass and plant abundance can be controlled by aboveground and belowground natural enemies. However, little is known about how the aboveground and belowground enemy effects may add up. We exposed 15 plant species to aboveground polyphagous insect herbivores and feedback effects from the soil community alone, as well as in combination. We envisaged three possibilities: additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects of the aboveground and belowground enemies on plant biomass. In our analysis, we included native and phylogenetically related range-expanding exotic plant species, because exotic plants on average are less sensitive to aboveground herbivores and soil feedback than related natives. Thus, we examined if lower sensitivity of exotic plant species to enemies also alters aboveground-belowground interactions. In a greenhouse experiment, we exposed six exotic and nine native plant species to feedback from their own soil communities, aboveground herbivory by polyphagous insects, or a combination of soil feedback and aboveground insects and compared shoot and root biomass to control plants without aboveground and belowground enemies. We observed that for both native and range-expanding exotic plant species effects of insect herbivory aboveground and soil feedback added up linearly, instead of enforcing or counteracting each other. However, there was no correlation between the strength of aboveground herbivory and soil feedback. We conclude that effects of polyphagous aboveground herbivorous insects and soil feedback add up both in the case of native and related range-expanding exotic plant species, but that aboveground herbivory effects may not necessarily predict the strengths of soil feedback effects.     

Baseline levels of PCDD/Fs in soil and herbage samples collected in the vicinity of a new hazardous waste incinerator in Catalonia,Spain

The construction in Constantí (Catalonia, Spain) of a new hazardous waste incinerator (HWI), which is the first one in Spain, finished in 1999. In order to determine the temporal variation (1996–1998) in the concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in the vicinity of the new HWI, 40 soil and 40 herbage samples were collected (1998) at the same sampling points in which samples had been taken two years before (1996). Each sample was analyzed for PCDDs and PCDFs by high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry. In the 1996 survey, PCDD/F concentrations in soils ranged from 0.13 to 24.20 ng I-TEQ/kg (d.m.), with median and mean values of 0.67 and 1.68 ng I-TEQ/kg (d.m.), respectively. In the present study, PCDD/F concentrations ranged from 0.12 to 17.20 ng I-TEQ/kg (d.m.), with a median value of 0.75 ng I-TEQ/kg (d.m.) and a mean value of 1.59 ng I-TEQ/kg (d.m.). In turn, in the present study PCDD/F concentrations in vegetation ranged from 0.14 to 2.01 ng I-TEQ/kg (d.m.) (median and mean values: 0.23 and 0.31 ng I-TEQ/kg, respectively), while in the 1996 survey PCDD/F concentrations ranged from 0.24 to 1.22 ng I-TEQ/kg (d.m.) (median and mean values: 0.53 and 0.61 ng I-TEQ/kg, respectively). According to the present (1998) and the previous (1996) levels of PCDD/Fs found in soils and vegetation, the area under potential influence of the new facility shows a rather low contamination by these compounds. The current results should be useful to establish the environmental impact of the HWI.     

Polymer composite material fabricated from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with polyurethane binder for potential noise control applications

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This paper shows a composite material fabricated from plastic waste of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyurethane as binder, in a ratio of...     

Scaled-up and economic assessment approach of the split-phase glycolysis process for the recycling of flexible polyurethane foam wastes

The economic viability of the split-phase glycolysis process for the recycling of any kind of flexible polyurethane foam waste employing crude glycerol as cleavage agent has been demonstrated. First, experiments at pilot plant scale were carried out to check that the process can be extrapolated to larger scales. With the goal of scaling-up the process from laboratory scale to pilot plant, geometric similarity criteria were applied together with dynamic similarity for laminar flow in agitated tank reactors. Hence, a pilot plant installation was designed with geometrically similar equipment to those used for lab scale, obtaining analogous results in terms of recovered polyol properties. Then, the basic design of a split-phase glycolysis industrial plant with a capacity for treating 270 Tm per year of flexible PU foams scraps was proposed. Finally, the economic feasibility of such recycling process was confirmed because of the obtention of a Net Present Value (NPV) of 1,464,555€, with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 27.99%, and a payback time between 4 and 5 years.

     

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic in medical waste amounts: a case study from a high-populated city of Turkey

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this study, the amount of medical waste generated in a high-populated city in Turkey between January 2018 and August 2021 was evaluated, and the...     

Drivers and barriers to successful solid waste management: assessing through an aggregated indicator

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Solid waste management is the main topic of the circular economy and remains a challenge for public management, because despite the recent economic...