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Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2010

Seasonal variations in the occurrence and fate of basic and neutral pharmaceuticals in a Swedish river-lake system

Daneshvar, Atlasi; Svanfelt, J; Kronberg, L; Prévost, M; Weyhenmeyer, Gesa

Abstract

The seasonal variations in the occurrence of carbamazepine, atenolol, metoprolol, sotalol, and acebutolol were studied at seven sites along River Fyris from December 2007 to December 2008. Samples were collected from the effluent of a waste water treatment plant (WWTP), at one upstream site, and five downstream sites of the WWTP). During one occasion in May 2008, water samples were collected at different locations and depths in the recipient lake. All analytes except of acebutolol were present in both the river and the lake at quantifiable amounts at all sampling occasions. Carbamazepine was found in similar concentrations (about 90 ng L(-1)) at all sampling sites and all studied depths (0.5-40 m) in the lake, indicating high environmental persistence of this compound. A clear seasonal pattern was observed for the natural attenuation of the beta-blockers in the river, with the highest attenuation occurring in summer and the lowest in winter. The loss of beta-blockers on a distance of 1320 m reached up to 75% during summer time but was insignificant during winter. The seasonal variations in the loss followed the seasonal variations in water temperature and chlorophyll a mass flow suggesting that biotransformation and adsorption are the main processes responsible for the loss of the studied pharmaceuticals in River Fyris downstream the WWTP. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Pharmaceutical; Effluent; Surface water; Occurrence; Transformation

Published in

Chemosphere
2010, Volume: 80, number: 3, pages: 301-309
Publisher: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

    SLU Authors

      • Associated SLU-program

      Non-toxic environment
      Lakes and watercourses

      Sustainable Development Goals

      SDG6 Clean water and sanitation
      SDG3 Good health and well-being

      UKÄ Subject classification

      Fish and Aquacultural Science
      Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use

      Publication Identifiers

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.03.060

      Permanent link to this page (URI)

      https://res.slu.se/id/publ/48144