Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water

Pharmaceuticals are a group of emerging contaminants that has received noticeable attention over the past decade. Continual development of the advanced instruments and improved analytical methodologies made possible detection of these microcontaminants in low levels in different environmental matrices. Traces of pharmaceuticals have also been found in groundwater and surface water that are used for drinking water supply. Therefore, concern has been raised over the potential risk to human health from exposure to the pharmaceutical residues via drinking water. Still, there is no evidence that any serious risk could arise from low concentrations of pharmaceuticals found in drinking water. Anyhow, there is much more to be understood about long-term, low-level exposure to a mixture of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites. In the following chapter, we give a brief overview of the technologies commonly applied for drinking water treatment, with reference to pharmaceutical removal, and we review available literature data on the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in finished drinking water.

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Abbreviations

Advanced oxidation processes

Drinking water treatment plant

Granular activated carbon

Natural organic matter

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Powdered activated carbon

Wastewater treatment plant

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), C/ Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain Aleksandra Jelić & Damià Barceló
  2. Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), c/Emili Grahit 101, 17003, Girona, Spain Mira Petrović & Damià Barceló
  3. Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Passeig Lluis Companys 23, 80010, Barcelona, Spain Mira Petrović
  4. King Saud University (KSU), 2455, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Damià Barceló
  1. Aleksandra Jelić