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The limited quantity of unpolluted water as a resource for drinking water production is one of the major challenges in the future around the world. Shortly after the concern about endocrine disrupters has arisen in the water community, pharmaceutical compounds have also recently become a question of interest and subject of study. Actually, bioactive ingredients of pharmaceuticals are excreted by the users (animal or human) as partly metabolized. During wastewater treatment, these metabolites and the unaltered parent compounds will undergo further transformations. However, the literature shows that many such compounds are not biodegradable; they are discharged into the environment where they may survive. In contrast to what happens with pesticides, they are mostly released in highly populated areas, continuously rather than at definite seasons of the year. Therefore they represent a potential pollution in resources used for drinking water production. Because of the complexity and variety of bioactive substances, existing data are still limited and much remains unknown about their potential toxic effect in the environment, their occurrence in resources, and their treatability in drinking water production. The widest literature to date deals with antibiotics, which are suspected to induce a resistance of the bacteria which would make them pathogenic for the humans. In order to investigate some of those questions, Ondeo Services has begun a European Project named POSEIDON (Assessment of Technologies for the Removal of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Sewage and Drinking Water Facilities to Improve the Indirect Potable Water Reuse), in collaboration with several European universities. It is supported by the European Community, over a two year time span from 2001-2003. The major pharmaceuticals consumed in France have been identified and are presented in this paper. Analytical campaigns have confirmed the presence of some of those compounds in wastewater treatment plant effluents and in the Seine River. Among them are iodinated contrast media, betablockers, acid compounds such as ibuprofen or bezafibrate. Treatability data of some of those compounds are also presented. Includes 18 references, tables, figures.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 11/01/2002 Number of Pages: 10File Size: 1 file , 400 KB