Small Amounts of Pharmaceuticals Found in North Central Pa. Rural Well Water

Date: July 31, 2018
Source: Penn State
Summary: Drinking water from wells in rural north central Pennsylvania had low levels of pharmaceuticals, according to a new study.

While septic tanks are generally installed downgradient of wells, contaminant from septic systems can impact well water quality, especially if the septic systems are not maintained or were improperly installed. Pharmaceuticals that are incompletely degraded in septic tanks and leaching fields can travel with wastewater and infiltrate groundwater.
Credit: Heather Gall Research Group / Penn State

Drinking water from wells in rural north central Pennsylvania had low levels of pharmaceuticals, according to a study led by Penn State researchers.

Partnering with volunteers in the University's Pennsylvania Master Well Owner Network, researchers tested water samples from 26 households with private wells in nine counties in the basin of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. All samples were analyzed for seven over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceuticals: acetaminophen, ampicillin, caffeine, naproxen, ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim.

At least one compound was detected at all sites. Ofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole -- antibiotics prescribed for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections -- were the most frequently detected compounds. Caffeine was detected in approximately half of the samples, while naproxen -- an anti-inflammatory drug used for the management of pain, fever and inflammation -- was not detected in any samples.

"It is now widely known that over-the-counter and prescription medications are routinely present at detectable levels in surface and groundwater bodies," said Heather Gall, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, whose research group in the Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences conducted the study. "The presence of these emerging contaminants has raised both environmental and public health concerns, particularly when these water supplies are used as drinking water sources."

The good news, Gall pointed out, is that the concentrations of the pharmaceuticals in groundwater sampled were extremely low -- at parts per billion levels. However, given that sampling with the Master Well Owner Network only occurred once, the frequency of occurrence, range of concentrations and potential health risks are not yet well understood, especially for these private groundwater supplies.

The researchers used a simple modeling approach based on the pharmaceuticals' physicochemical parameters -- degradation rates and sorption factors -- to provide insight into the differences in frequency of detection for the target pharmaceuticals, noted lead researcher Faith Kibuye, who will graduate with a doctoral degree in biorenewable systems next year.

She explained that calculations revealed that none of the concentrations observed in the groundwater wells posed any significant human health risk, with risk quotients that are well below the minimal value. However, the risk assessment does not address the potential effect of exposure to mixtures of pharmaceuticals that are likely present in water simultaneously, she said. For example, as many as six of the analyzed pharmaceuticals were detected in some groundwater samples.

"There remains a major concern that even at low concentrations, pharmaceuticals could interact together and influence the biochemical functioning of the human body, so even at very low concentrations they might have some kind of synergistic effect," Kibuye said. "We only analyzed for seven pharmaceuticals but the chances are that there may have been many more."

The findings of the research -- which Kibuye will present today (July 31) at the annual meeting of the American Association of Agricultural and Biological Engineers in Detroit -- should be of interest the world over because groundwater is a critical supply of drinking water globally.

It is estimated that half of the population accesses potable water from groundwater aquifers. In the United States, approximately 13 million households use private wells as their drinking water source, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In Pennsylvania, approximately one-third of the residents receive their drinking water from private groundwater wells, Penn State Extension surveys show.

It is common for homeowners with private wells to also have septic tanks on their properties for treatment of their wastewater. And while septic tanks are generally installed downgradient of the well, it is possible that contaminant from septic systems can impact well-water quality, especially if the septic systems are not maintained or were improperly installed.

"While common contaminant issues include fecal coliform, E. coli and nitrate, pharmaceuticals and other compounds of emerging concern pose potential threats to well water quality," Kibuye said. "Pharmaceuticals that are incompletely degraded in septic tanks and leaching fields can therefore travel with wastewater plumes and impact groundwater, potentially making septic systems important point sources to surrounding domestic groundwater sources."

Story Source:

Penn State. "Small amounts of pharmaceuticals found in north central Pa. rural well water." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 July 2018. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180731141630.htm

Fish Exposed to Treated Wastewater Have Altered Behavior

Date: December 5, 2017
Source: McMaster University
Summary: Researchers have found that fish living downstream from a wastewater treatment plant showed changes to their normal behavior --- ones that made them vulnerable to predator --- when exposed to elevated levels of antidepressant drugs in the water.

New research points to the ongoing problem of prescription medications, personal care products and other drugs that end up in the watershed and the impact they have on the natural environment.
Credit: Image courtesy of McMaster University

A team of researchers from Environment Canada and Climate Change Canada and McMaster University have found that fish living downstream from a wastewater treatment plant showed changes to their normal behaviour -- ones that made them vulnerable to predators -- when exposed to elevated levels of antidepressant drugs in the water.

The findings, published as a series of three papers in the journal Scientific Reports, point to the ongoing problem of prescription medications, personal care products and other drugs that end up in the watershed and the impact they have on the natural environment.

"Fish can be seen as the canaries in the coal mine," says Sigal Balshine, a professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster and one of the authors on the papers. "The fish that make their homes in the receiving waters downstream from wastewater treatment plants absorb these chemicals and therefore can be our water sentinels."

For their research, the team caged gold fish at various sites in Cootes Paradise watershed -- designated as a Great Lakes Area of Concern by an international environmental commission -- and at a control site in Jordan Harbour, which is located between Beamsville and St. Catharine's on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Their analysis found several commonly prescribed antidepressants, known as serotonin uptake/reuptake inhibitors, in the blood plasma of the fish that were caged in the Cootes Paradise Marsh, downstream from the Dundas Waste Water Treatment Plant.

The drugs, say researchers, increased the levels of serotonin in the fish, which in turn affected their swimming behaviour. In short, the fish caged closest to the source of the drugs were bolder, less anxious, were more willing to explore, and more active overall than the fish caged at Jordan Harbour.

Because the affected fish were less anxious, their altered swimming patterns could make them more susceptible to predators. They began moving again faster following a simulated predator attack.

"Taken together, our results suggest the fish downstream of waste water treatment plants are accumulating pharmaceuticals and personal care products at levels sufficient to alter neurotransmitter concentrations and to also impair ecologically-relevant behaviours," says Jim Sherry, a research scientist with Environment Canada and lead author of the study.

Researchers also point to other molecular changes in the fish which point to drug induced injury to the liver and compromised lipid metabolism.

With an abundance of rivers, lakes and oceans, researchers suggest that most Canadians don't appreciate the seriousness and need for safe water reuse.

"Over one billion people on our planet lack access to clean drinking water and a number of serious water borne diseases are caused by improper water treatment," says Balshine. "Water treatment and reuse must be a top priority for municipalities, regions and countries and so understanding the impacts of water treatment on ecosystem function is necessary first step to ensure that we have a sufficient water supply, maintain our biodiversity and protect the health of our ecosystems."

The study was funded by the Great Lakes Action Plan (Phase V) and the Build in Canada Innovation Program.

Source: McMaster University. "Fish exposed to treated wastewater have altered behavior." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 December 2017. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171205092134.htm

Antibiotics Come With 'Environmental Side Effects'

Report published in Microchemical Journal wins Elsevier's Atlas award

Date: July 25, 2017
Source: Elsevier
Summary: Researchers are bringing attention to the fact that commonly used antibiotic drugs are making their way out into the environment, where they can harm microbes that are essential to a healthy environment.

Researchers writing in Microchemical Journal are bringing attention to the fact that commonly used antibiotic drugs are making their way out into the environment, where they can harm microbes that are essential to a healthy environment. Their review article has been selected for the Elsevier Atlas Award, which recognizes research that could significantly impact people's lives around the world or has already done so.

"The amount of antibiotics is very, very low -- there are normally nanograms per liter of these molecules found in natural environments," said Dr. Paola Grenni, a microbial ecologist at the National Research Council's Water Research Institute in Italy. "But the antibiotics and also other pharmaceuticals can have an effect even in low concentrations, the so-called environmental side-effects."

When people take antibiotics, their bodies break down and metabolize only a portion of the drugs. The rest is excreted and enters wastewater. Because wastewater treatment plants aren't designed to fully remove antibiotic or other pharmaceutical compounds, many of those compounds reach natural systems where they can accumulate and harm microbes in nature.

That's a big concern, Dr. Grenni said, because many microbial species found in the environment are beneficial, playing important roles in natural cycles of nutrients, primary production and climate regulation. Some microbes also degrade organic contaminants, such as pesticides.

The review paper published by Dr. Grenni along with colleagues Drs. Valeria Ancona and Anna Barra Caracciolo highlights commonly used antibiotic compounds and their active ingredients. Some of those medications are used to treat people. Many others are used in veterinary medicine, especially to treat farm animals including cattle, pigs and poultry.

The release of antibiotics into natural systems is a "real-life experiment" with consequences that aren't yet fully known. Dr. Grenni and her colleagues say there's a need for more specific protections of environmental microbes given their importance to functioning ecosystems.

It's important for nations to work to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use and the release of those antibiotics that are needed into the environment. To that end, efforts should be made to equip wastewater treatment plants for removal of those compounds and to devise methods to improve the degradation of antibiotics once they reach natural environments. Members of the public can help by taking care to use antibiotics only when they are truly needed, and by disposing of expired medications properly.

"There are only a few researchers working in this field, but it's very important," Dr. Grenni said. "We need to know the different molecules we normally use that are in the environment and the effect they have. We need more research in this field."

Story Source: Elsevier. "Antibiotics come with 'environmental side effects': Report published in Microchemical Journal wins Elsevier's Atlas award." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 July 2017. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170725122046.htm.