A new study led by researchers at Penn State shows that certain drugs used to treat COVID-19 patients may be harmful to aquatic organisms. Wastewater surveillance can be used to monitor the effects of human health on water quality and the environment.
According to Heather Preisendanz, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Penn State, over-the-counter and prescription-strength pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics and pain killers, can be flushed down the toilet.
Preisendanz said that increased use of pharmaceuticals during the Pandemic could lead to increased concentrations of these drugs in wastewater treatment plant effluent and possibly harm aquatic life.
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture collected samples from two wastewater treatment plants in central Pennsylvania between May 2020 and May 2021. A hospital is located in one of the sites.
The researchers analyzed the influent at both wastewater treatment plants, as well as the effluent for a variety of drugs that may have been used to treat COVID-19 Their work was published in a journal.
Preisendanz said that people who are not severely ill to the point of needing hospitalization can usually be treated with pain killers. Antibiotics have been prescribed for patients who have COVID-19 problems, and some hospitalized patients have been treated with dexamethasone
The researchers looked at two over-the-counter fever reducers and two COVID-19 therapeutic agents.
According to Preisendanz, it's possible that the detection of these pharmaceuticals could increase. Valuable information regarding the well-being of entire communities can be gained without the need to interview, survey or test individuals.
Concentrations of dexamethasone were correlated with the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The average removal efficiency by the wastewater treatment plant for the drugs was 39% and 34%, respectively. Hydroxychloroquine wasn't found at any of the influent samples.
Preisendanz said that the virus concentrations alone couldn't tell them if they would see the medication.
Dexamethasone was found in quantities that could pose a low acute risk to fish, but no research has been done to determine the concentrations that could pose a risk.
The team found that trimethoprim concentrations could pose a low to medium risk to aquatic life, while sulfamethoxazole could pose a high risk.
The team found that the levels of both drugs in the community were not indicative of the prevalence of the disease. The levels of naproxen detected in the effluent posed a low to medium risk to aquatic organisms.
"While the concentrations we calculated considered the individual risks that each drug could pose on aquatic life, these calculations do not account for the potential risks that could come from the synergistic effects of these drugs in a mixture," said Preisendanz. Our study shows that wastewater surveillance can be used to understand the effects of human health on water quality and ecology.
More information: Kathryn R. Hayden et al, Impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on pharmaceuticals in wastewater treated for beneficial reuse: Two case studies in central Pennsylvania, Journal of Environmental Quality (2022). DOI: 10.1002/jeq2.20398 Journal information: Journal of Environmental Quality
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