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Applied Sciences
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Monitoring of Illicit Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Wastewater: Latest Advances and...
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Monitoring of Illicit Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Wastewater: Latest Advances and Prospects

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 September 2021) | Viewed by 7588

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tomáš Mackuľak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Engineering (ICEE FCFT), Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 9, 812 43 Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE); monitoring of micropollutants and SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the environment; environmental technologies
Dr. Miroslav Gál

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Inorganic Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 9, 812 43 Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE); degradation of micropollutants and viruses in the environment; environmental technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Based on the systematic monitoring of wastewater for selected compounds/biomarkers, the so-called epidemiology of wastewater is currently established, with the task of using the collected data to provide a comprehensive overview of the consumption of legal and illegal or new types of drugs or pharmaceuticals in the selected regions. This information can also be used as a source of information on the health of the population, based on the presence of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites, or in terms of the presence of various microbial pathogens and viruses, or their RNA and DNA. An example is the monitoring of RNA SARS-CoV-2, and thus the definition of the possible onset of a disease wave in a given area or the detection of an outbreak. The epidemiology of wastewater can also be used to monitor the occurrence of new psychoactive substances (NPS) or changes in the drug scene in different regions during the lockdown.

The wastewater treatment system is currently unable to effectively eliminate the occurrence of select illicit drugs and pharmaceuticals, which causes their transfer into the aquatic ecosystem. At this point, it is important to focus on innovative technologies that help us eliminate the problem of wide-range micropollutants in wastewater. Therefore, the main subject of this Special Issue is the monitoring of selected micropollutants/biomarkers/RNA SARS-CoV-2 within the epidemiology of wastewater and the description of new technologies for wastewater treatment in order to eliminate the problem of specific micropollutants. This Special Issue seeks contributions from manuscripts that suggest new strategies and improve our understanding in the area of the monitoring, behavior and elimination of illicit drugs and pharmaceuticals present in wastewater.

Dr. Tomáš Mackuľak
Dr. Miroslav Gál
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE)
  • treatment technologies (membranes technology, AOPs, ferrate(VI))
  • technologies for water disinfection
  • micropollutants
  • wastewater treatment plant
  • biomarkers
  • viruses
  • SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19/lockdown

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

26 pages, 4089 KiB  
Review
Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater Treatment Plants: A Systematic Review on the Substances of Greatest Concern Responsible for the Development of Antimicrobial Resistance
by Gabriele Frascaroli, Deborah Reid, Colin Hunter, Joanne Roberts, Karin Helwig, Janice Spencer and Ania Escudero
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(15), 6670; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11156670 - 21 Jul 2021
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 6872
Abstract
In recent years, there is a growing concern about the alarming spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in different environments. Increasingly, many species of bacteria, fungi and viruses are becoming immune to the most commonly used pharmaceuticals. One of the causes of the development [...] Read more.
In recent years, there is a growing concern about the alarming spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in different environments. Increasingly, many species of bacteria, fungi and viruses are becoming immune to the most commonly used pharmaceuticals. One of the causes of the development of the resistance is the persistence of these drugs, excreted by humans, in municipal and hospital wastewater (WW). Consequently, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a primary source of antimicrobial resistance genes as novel pollutants. This systematic review sought to examine the relevant literature on pharmaceutical residues (PRs) responsible for AMR in municipal and hospital WW in order to propose a classification of the PRs of greatest concern and provide an updated source for AMR management in WWTPs. Among 546 studies collected from four databases, 18 were included in the present review. The internal and external validity of each study was assessed, and the risk of bias was evaluated on a 20-parameter basis. Results were combined in a narrative synthesis discussing influent and effluent PR concentrations at 88 WWTPs, seasonal variations, differences between hospital and municipal WW, environmental risk assessment values of antimicrobial substances and treatment facilities removal efficiencies. Among the 45 PRs responsible for AMR evaluated in this study, the antibiotics ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, erythromycin, metronidazole, ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim constitute a considerable risk in terms of ubiquitous distribution, worrying concentrations, risk quotient values and resistance to removal treatments. Gaps in knowledge, data and information reported in this review will provide a valuable source for managing AMR in WWTPs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring of Illicit Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Wastewater: Latest Advances and Prospects)
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