SPE and LC-MS/MS determination of 14 illicit drugs in surface waters from the Natural Park of L’Albufera (València, Spain)

Evaluation of the presence of drugs of abuse in tap waters

A total of seventy samples of drinking water were tested for non-controlled and illicit drugs. Of these, 43 were from Spanish cities, 15 from seven other European countries, three from Japan and nine from seven different Latin American countries. The most frequently detected compounds were caffeine, nicotine, cotinine, cocaine and its metabolite benzoylecgonine, methadone and its metabolite EDDP. The mean concentrations of non-controlled drugs were: for caffeine 50 and 19 ng L(-1), in Spanish and worldwide drinking water respectively and for nicotine 13 and 19 ng L(-1). Illicit drugs were sparsely present and usually at ultratrace level (<1 ng L(-1)). For example, cocaine has mean values of 0.4 (Spain) and 0.3 ng L(-1) (worldwide), whereas for benzoylecgonine, these mean values were 0.4 and 1.8 ng L(-1), respectively. Higher concentrations of benzoylecgonine were found in Latin American samples (up to 15 ng L(-1)). No opiates were identified in any sample but the presence of methadone and EDDP was frequently detected. Total mean values for EDDP were 0.4 ng L(-1) (Spain) and 0.3 ng L(-1) (worldwide). Very few samples tested positive for amphetamines, in line with the reactivity of chlorine with these compounds. No cannabinoids, LSD, ketamine, fentanyl and PCP were detected.

A biological safety evaluation on reclaimed water reused as scenic water using a bioassay battery

An assessment method based on three toxicity tests (algae growth inhibition, daphnia immobilization and larval fish toxicity) was used to screen the biological safety of reclaimed water which was reused as sole replenishment for scenic water system in a park (SOF Park) in northern China. A total of 24 water samples were collected from six sites of water system in the SOF Park in four different seasons. The results indicated that: (1) the reclaimed water directly discharged from a reclamation treatment plant near the SOF Park as influent of park had relatively low biological safety (all samples were ranked as C or D); (2) the biological safety of reclaimed water was improved greatly with the ecological reclamation treatment processes composing of artificial wetland system and followed oxidation pond system; (3) the biological safety of reclaimed water in the main lake of SOF Park kept at a health status during different seasons (all samples were ranked as A); (4) there was some certain correlation (R2 = 0.5737) between the sum of toxicity scores and dissolved organic carbon for the studied water samples. It was concluded that the assessment method was reliable to screen the safety of reclaimed water reused as scenic water, and the reclaimed water with further ecological purification processes such as artificial wetland and oxidation pond system can be safely reused as scenic water in park.

Current approaches to trace analysis of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment

A large number of xenobiotics including pharmaceuticals and personal care products are continuously released into the environment. Effluents from sewage treatment plants are well known to be the major source for introduction of pharmaceuticals and personal care products into the aquatic system. In recent years, reliable methods have been established for residue analysis of these pollutants down to low ng/L levels. In this review, the different approaches to their trace determination are reviewed with special attention being paid to sample preparation procedures, state-of-the-art high-performance separation methods hyphenated with mass spectrometry, and immunochemical methods.