Environmental Risk and Risk of Resistance Selection Due to Antimicrobials’ Occurrence in Two Polish Wastewater Treatment Plants and Receiving Surface Water
by
Joanna Giebułtowicz 1
, Grzegorz Nałęcz-Jawecki 2, Monika Harnisz 3, Dawid Kucharski 1, Ewa Korzeniewska 3 and Grażyna Płaza 4,*
Joanna Giebułtowicz 1, Grzegorz Nałęcz-Jawecki 2, Monika Harnisz 3, Dawid Kucharski 1, Ewa Korzeniewska 3 and Grażyna Płaza 4,*
1
Department of Bioanalysis and Drugs Analysis, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, 1 Banacha, 02-097 Warszawa, Poland
2
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Warsaw, 1 Banacha, 02-097 Warszawa, Poland
3
Department of Environmental Microbiology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury, 5 Oczapowskiego, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
4
Microbiology Unit, Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas, 6 Kossutha, 40-844 Katowice, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Jolanta Kumirska and Teresa A. P. Rocha-Santos
Molecules 2020, 25(6), 1470; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25061470
Received: 21 February 2020 / Revised: 13 March 2020 / Accepted: 21 March 2020 / Published: 24 March 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pharmaceutical Residues in the Environment)
In this study, a screening of 26 selected antimicrobials using liquid chromatography coupled to a tandem mass spectrometry method in two Polish wastewater treatment plants and their receiving surface waters was provided. The highest average concentrations of metronidazole (7400 ng/L), ciprofloxacin (4300 ng/L), vancomycin (3200 ng/L), and sulfamethoxazole (3000 ng/L) were observed in influent of WWTP2. Ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole were the most dominant antimicrobials in influent and effluent of both WWTPs. In the sludge samples the highest mean concentrations were found for ciprofloxacin (up to 28 μg/g) and norfloxacin (up to 5.3 μg/g). The removal efficiency of tested antimicrobials was found to be more than 50% for both WWTPs. However, the presence of antimicrobials influenced their concentrations in the receiving waters. The highest antimicrobial resistance risk was estimated in influent of WWTPs for azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, metronidazole, and trimethoprim and in the sludge samples for the following antimicrobials: azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, norfloxacin, trimethoprim, ofloxacin, and tetracycline. The high environmental risk for exposure to azithromycin, clarithromycin, and sulfamethoxazole to both cyanobacteria and eukaryotic species in effluents and/or receiving water was noted. Following the obtained results, we suggest extending the watch list of the Water Framework Directive for Union-wide monitoring with sulfamethoxazole.
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Keywords:
antibiotics; wastewater; sewage sludge; risk assessment; removal efficiency; LC-MS/MS analysis
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Giebułtowicz, J.; Nałęcz-Jawecki, G.; Harnisz, M.; Kucharski, D.; Korzeniewska, E.; Płaza, G. Environmental Risk and Risk of Resistance Selection Due to Antimicrobials’ Occurrence in Two Polish Wastewater Treatment Plants and Receiving Surface Water. Molecules 2020, 25, 1470.
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