Dataset Information

Pharmaceuticals in tap water: human health risk assessment and proposed monitoring framework in China.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Pharmaceuticals are known to contaminate tap water worldwide, but the relevant human health risks have not been assessed in China.

Objectives

We monitored 32 pharmaceuticals in Chinese tap water and evaluated the life-long human health risks of exposure in order to provide information for future prioritization and risk management.

Methods

We analyzed samples (n = 113) from 13 cities and compared detected concentrations with existing or newly-derived safety levels for assessing risk quotients (RQs) at different life stages, excluding the prenatal stage.

Results

We detected 17 pharmaceuticals in 89% of samples, with most detectable concentrations (92%) at < 50 ng/L. Caffeine (median-maximum, nanograms per liter: 24.4-564), metronidazole (1.8-19.3), salicylic acid (16.6-41.2), clofibric acid (1.2-3.3), carbamazepine (1.3-6.7), and dimetridazole (6.9-14.7) were found in ? 20% of samples. Cities within the Yangtze River region and Guangzhou were regarded as contamination hot spots because of elevated levels and frequent positive detections. Of the 17 pharmaceuticals detected, 13 showed very low risk levels, but 4 (i.e., dimetridazole, thiamphenicol, sulfamethazine, and clarithromycin) were found to have at least one life-stage RQ ? 0.01, especially for the infant and child life stages, and should be considered of high priority for management. We propose an indicator-based monitoring framework for providing information for source identification, water treatment effectiveness, and water safety management in China.

Conclusion

Chinese tap water is an additional route of human exposure to pharmaceuticals, particularly for dimetridazole, although the risk to human health is low based on current toxicity data. Pharmaceutical detection and application of the proposed monitoring framework can be used for water source protection and risk management in China and elsewhere.

SUBMITTER: Leung HW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3702003 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Pharmaceuticals in tap water: human health risk assessment and proposed monitoring framework in China.

Leung Ho Wing HW Jin Ling L Wei Si S Tsui Mirabelle Mei Po MM Zhou Bingsheng B Jiao Liping L Cheung Pak Chuen PC Chun Yiu Kan YK Murphy Margaret Burkhardt MB Lam Paul Kwan Sing PK

Environmental health perspectives 20130510 7

<h4>Background</h4>Pharmaceuticals are known to contaminate tap water worldwide, but the relevant human health risks have not been assessed in China.<h4>Objectives</h4>We monitored 32 pharmaceuticals in Chinese tap water and evaluated the life-long human health risks of exposure in order to provide information for future prioritization and risk management.<h4>Methods</h4>We analyzed samples (n = 113) from 13 cities and compared detected concentrations with existing or newly-derived safety levels ...[more]

PMID: 23665928

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundLocation-specific patterns of regulated and non-regulated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) were detected in tap water samples of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. However, it remains unclear if the detected DBPs together with undetected DPBs and organic micropollutants can lead to mixture effects in drinking water.ObjectiveTo evaluate the neurotoxicity, oxidative stress response and cytotoxicity of 42 tap water samples, 6 treated with activated carbon filters, 5 with reverse osmosis and 9 bottled waters. To compare the measured effects of the extracts with the mixture effects predicted from the detected concentrations and the relative effect potencies of the detected DBPs using the mixture model of concentration addition.MethodsMixtures of organic chemicals in water samples were enriched by solid phase extraction and tested for cytotoxicity and neurite outgrowth inhibition in the neuronal cell line SH-SY5Y and for cytotoxicity and oxidative stress response in the AREc32 assay.ResultsUnenriched water did not trigger neurotoxicity or cytotoxicity. After up to 500-fold enrichment, few extracts showed cytotoxicity. Disinfected water showed low neurotoxicity at 20- to 300-fold enrichment and oxidative stress response at 8- to 140-fold enrichment. Non-regulated non-volatile DBPs, particularly (brominated) haloacetonitriles dominated the predicted mixture effects of the detected chemicals and predicted effects agreed with the measured effects. By hierarchical clustering we identified strong geographical patterns in the types of DPBs and their association with effects. Activated carbon filters did not show a consistent reduction of effects but domestic reverse osmosis filters decreased the effect to that of bottled water.Impact statementBioassays are an important complement to chemical analysis of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water. Comparison of the measured oxidative stress response and mixture effects predicted from the detected chemicals and their relative effect potencies allowed the identification of the forcing agents for the mixture effects, which differed by location but were mainly non-regulated DBPs. This study demonstrates the relevance of non-regulated DBPs from a toxicological perspective. In vitro bioassays, in particular reporter gene assays for oxidative stress response that integrate different reactive toxicity pathways including genotoxicity, may therefore serve as sum parameters for drinking water quality assessment.

Dataset Information

Pharmaceuticals in tap water: human health risk assessment and proposed monitoring framework in China.

Background

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Pharmaceuticals in tap water: human health risk assessment and proposed monitoring framework in China.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets