WEEKLY EDITION APRIL 18, 2018
Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater:
Implications for the Portable
Sanitation Industry…continued
By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director
An investigation conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in
1999 to check the occurrence of drugs and personal care
products including sterols, hormones, pharmaceuticals, and
antibiotics) in surface and ground water confirmed at least
one substance was present at low levels in more than two
thirds of the samples. Steroids, nonprescription drugs, and
pesticides were the most frequently detected compounds.
By February 2007 more research had been done and the Journal of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry reported on the
success of different wastewater treatment methods in removing trace pharmaceuticals from treated water. The study found
that membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology was more effective than conventional activated sludge (CAS) methods for
reducing pharmaceuticals in wastewater. The findings also stated:
Although membrane technology seems a promising means of removal of pharmaceutical compounds, the MBR
process investigated would not completely halt discharge of micropollutants. Membrane treatment processes
should be optimized by modification of the membranes (variation of the materials and reduction of molecular
mass cut-off limits) and/or by modification of the treatment process (inoculation of special microorganisms). […]
Because of the current lack of information on the behaviour of pharmaceuticals in surface and wastewaters,
however, further studies are required on the occurrence, fate, and effects of these substances in the
environment.
Then, in 2012, the same journal reported on another study aimed at better understanding pharmaceutical residue in the water
environment. By this time it was well known that pharmaceuticals are able to survive a series of water treatment processes, and
concerns were growing because the residues were being detected in water and sediment "ubiquitously," that is, pretty much
everywhere. The new study used a series of treatment processes including dissolved air flotation (DAF), MBR, and ozone
oxidation. The study found
• DAF alone removed between 23% and 83% of pharmaceuticals
• MBR alone was able to remove 50 to 99% of specific pharmaceuticals.
• DAF and MBR in combination removed between 69.75% and 99.66% of various pharmaceuticals
and thus satisfied
effluent water quality standards.
However, not all pharmaceuticals responded in the same way. While most of the drugs that survived the DAF-MBR process
were present in very small concentrations, some drugs such as naproxen (Aleve) tend to be resistant to the process.
Recent Research
Research within the past few years has continued to paint a picture that suggests significant negative implications from the
presence of trace pharmaceuticals in the treated water supply.
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