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Concentrations and mass loadings of cardiovascular pharmaceuticals in healthcare facility wastewaters
Citation:
Nagarnaik, P., A. BATT, AND B. Boulanger. Concentrations and mass loadings of cardiovascular pharmaceuticals in healthcare facility wastewaters. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, Uk, 12(11):2112-2119, (2010).
Impact/Purpose:
This presented research informs the risk management process by providing source characterization data for healthcare facility wastewaters containing commonly prescribed cardiovascular APIs.
Description:
Healthcare facilities are an under-characterized source of pharmaceuticals to municipal wastewaters. In this study, the composition and magnitude of 16 cardiovascular active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and two cardiovascular API metabolites in wastewater effluents from a hospital, nursing care, assisted living, and independent living facility are presented. Each cardiovascular API was detected in at least one facility's wastewater. The hospital's wastewater had the most detected cardiovascular APIs with 13 of 18 measured compounds positively confirmed and quantified. Maximum mean analyte concentrations within each healthcare facility's wastewater were: 11.3 ug L-1 atenolol for the independent living facility; 8.7 ug L-1 valsartan for the assisted living facility; 2.7 ug L-1 diltiazem for the nursing home facility; and 14.6 ug L-1 valsartan for hospital facility. Daily wastewater flow was combined with individual concentrations to estimate the cardiovascular API mass loadings leaving each facility through wastewater discharges to the municipal sewer system. The estimated daily mass loading of all measured cardiovascular APIs ranged from 0.87 g day-1 at the assisted living facility to 12.5 g day-1 at the hospital. The combined loading for all four facilities was 16.2 g day-1.
