Occurrence and environmental risk assessment of 24 pharmaceuticals and personal care products in wastewater treatment plants in Jiangsu, China

Abstract

This study determined the occurrence, removal and environmental risk assessment of 24 multi-class pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of Jiangsu Province, China. Solid phase extraction was used for pre-concentration of the samples with ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry analysis following. Results indicated that the maximum concentrations of the PPCPs varied between 2.15 ng/L and 6234 ng/L in influents and effluents. Quinolone antibiotics, macrolide antibiotics, cephalosporin antibiotics, lotions and other drugs were detected more commonly. Above the calculation of the risk quotient, clarithromycin and sulfamethoxazole showed high potential environmental risk for acute toxicity.