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STAR Grant R829004 - Pharmaceuticals and Antiseptics: Occurrence and Fate in Drinking Water, Sewage Treatment Facilities, and Coastal Waters (2001 - 2004)
Project Purpose:
The purpose of this research project is to address data gaps in the occurrence, ecotoxic risk, and fate of pharmaceuticals and antiseptics in drinking water, sewage treatment plant (STP) influent and effluent, and receiving waters.
Project Description(s):
Final selection of target compounds will be based in part on calculations of potential environmental concentrations and (where possible) environmental risk associated with existing products (Task 1), along with preliminary screening studies in STPs. Analytical methods previously developed elsewhere will be refined (Task 2) so as to provide the extremely high sensitivity needed for analyzing trace concentrations in drinking water, while relying on benchtop GC/MS techniques that can readily be adopted by others. In Task 3, concentrations of analytes will be determined in raw and finished drinking water samples obtained from public utilities across the U.S. In Task 4, the adequacy of current wastewater treatment practices for reducing emission of pharmaceuticals and antiseptics will be examined by measuring their concentrations at three STPs (Deer Island in Boston, MA; Back River and Patapsco STPs in Baltimore, MD). Task 5 will examine the biodegradability of selected pharmaceuticals and antiseptics in simulated wastewater treatment systems and in real wastewater, in order to examine the influence of interactions with co-contaminants on biodegradability at the low levels encountered in the environment. Finally, Task 6, will determine vertical and longitudinal distributions of target pharmaceuticals and antiseptics in the upper Chesapeake Bay to seek evidence of rapid natural attenuation.
Project Outcomes:
Final report: Pharmaceuticals and Antiseptics: Occurrence and Fate in Drinking Water, Sewage Treatment Facilities, and Coastal Waters
Contact
Angela Page at page.angelad@epa.gov