Pharmaceutical residues in water and sediment of Msunduzi River, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
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Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Chemosphere
Abstract
The little data about pharmaceutical residue contamination in African water bodies motivated our study
on the occurrence of pharmaceutical residues in the water and sediment of Msunduzi River in the
KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa; and in the Darvill wastewater treatment plant found in
Msunduzi catchment. Samples collected along the River and wastewater treatment plant were extracted
and analysed for pharmaceutical residues selected based on statistics of drug usage in South Africa i.e.
antipyretics, antibiotics, caffeine, an antiepileptic and an antipsychotic drug were determined using
HPLC–MS/MS.
In all the matrices investigated, the antipyretic ibuprofen had the highest concentration of up to
117 lg L 1, 84.60 lg L 1 and 659 ng g 1 in wastewater, surface water and sediment respectively.
Antibiotics were detected in generally low concentrations of <10 lg L 1 in surface water samples and
up to 34.50 lg L 1 in wastewater; moreover they were not completely removed during wastewater treatment.
The percentage removal efficiency of the studied group was 6.55–98.00% for antipyretics, 73.33–
98.90% for antibiotics, 48.80% for the anti-epileptic drug and 86.40% for Caffeine. Clozapine exhibited a
negative removal.
In surface water, Henley dam exhibited a high concentration of the pharmaceutical residues and the
highest concentration of metronidazole in sediment (up to 1253.50 ng g 1) detected. Metronidazole
was only detected in sediment and bio-solids.
Description
Keywords
Pharmaceutical residues, Surface water, Wastewater treatment plant, Msunduzi River, South Africa
Citation
Matongo, S., Birungi, G., Moodley, B., & Ndungu, P. (2015). Pharmaceutical residues in water and sediment of Msunduzi River, kwazulu-natal, South Africa. Chemosphere, 134, 133-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.03.093