In vivo toxicities of the hospital effluent in Mahdia Tunisia

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Tunisian hospital wastewater: occurrence and environmental risk

Despite concerns about the potential risk associated with the environmental occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), few studies address the emissions of hospitals to aquatic compartments. We examined within a 3-month sampling period the occurrence and environmental risk of PPCPs in seven Tunisian hospital wastewaters. From personal care products, UV filters, main metabolites, and benzotriazoles were quantified, with benzophenone 3 (oxybenzone, BP3) and benzotriazole (BZT) the most frequently found (71%) at median concentrations in the range 2.43 ± 0.87 ngL-1-64.05 ± 6.82 ngL-1 for BP3 and 51.67 ± 1.67 ngL-1-254 ± 9.9 ngL-1 for BZT. High concentrations were also found for 4-hydroxybenzophenone (4HB) (221 ± 6.22 ngL-1), one of the main metabolites of BP3. The antibiotics ofloxacin and trimethoprim, the anti-inflammatory acetaminophen, the antiepileptic carbamazepine, and the stimulant caffeine were present in all the wastewaters. The highest median concentration corresponded to acetaminophen, with 1240 ± 94 mgL-1 in Tunis Hospital, followed by ofloxacin with 78850 ± 39 μgL-1 in Sousse Hospital. For ecotoxicity assessment, acute toxicity was observed for Daphnia magna and Vibrio fischeri. The toxicity data were used in a hazard quotient (HQ) approach to evaluate the risk posed by the target PPCPs to aquatic organisms. The calculated HQs revealed that marbofloxacin (234 for V. fischeri), enrofloxacin (121 for D. magna), and BZT (82.2 for D. magna and 83.7 for V. fischeri) posed the highest risk, concluding that potential risk exists toward aquatic microorganisms. This study constitutes the first monitoring of UV filters in Tunisian hospital effluents and provides occurrence and toxicity data of PPCPs for reference in further surveys in the country.

Review of hospital effluents: special emphasis on characterization, impact, and treatment of pollutants and antibiotic resistance

Health care institutions generate large volumes of liquid effluents from specific activities related to healthcare, analysis, and research. Their direct discharge into the environment has various negative effects on aquatic environments and human health, due to their high organic matter charges and the presence of various emerging contaminants such as disinfectants, drugs, bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Moreover, hospital effluents, by carrying antibiotics, contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms in the environment. This resistance has become a global issue that manifests itself variously in different countries, causing the transmission of different infections. In this respect, an effort is provided to protect water resources by current treatment methods that imply physical-chemical processes such as adsorption and advanced oxidation processes, biological processes such as activated sludge and membrane bioreactors and other hybrid techniques. The purpose of this review is to improve the knowledge on the composition and impact of hospital wastewater on man and the environment, highlighting the different treatment techniques appropriate to this type of disposal before discharge into the environment.

Contaminants of emerging concern in marine areas: First evidence of UV filters and paraben preservatives in seawater and sediment on the eastern coast of Tunisia

UV filters (UVFs) and paraben preservatives (PBs) are widely used components in many personal care products. However, there has been a rising concern for their endocrine-disrupting effects on wildlife once they reach aquatic ecosystems via recreative activities and wastewater treatment plants effluents. This study addresses UVFs and PBs occurrence in seawater and sediment impacted by tourism and sewage discharges along the coast of Mahdia, center East Tunisia. Samples of water and sediment were collected for 6 months from 3 coastal areas. Among the 14 investigated UVFs, 8 were detected in seawater and 4 were found in sediment. All PBs were present in seawater and only methylparaben (MePB) was detected in sediment. Benzophenone-3 (oxybenzone, BP3), benzocaine (EtPABA), and MePB were present in all water samples with concentrations in the ranges 16.4-66.9, 7.3-37.7, and 17.6-222 ng/L, respectively. However, the highest value, 1420 ng/L, corresponded to octinoxate (EHMC). In sediments, avobenzone (AVO), 4-methyl benzylidene camphor (4MBC), EHMC, 5-methyl-1-H-benzotriazole (MeBZT), and MePB were detected at concentrations within the range 1.1-17.6 ng/g dw, being MePB the most frequently detected (89%). MePB and MBZT presented the highest sediment-water partition coefficients and MePB also showed a positive correlation with total suspended solids' water content. Overall, pollutants concentrations remained rather constant along the sampling period, showing little seasonal variation. This study constitutes the first monitoring of UVFs and PBs on the Tunisian coastline and provides occurrence data for reference in further surveys in the country.

Occurrence of Textile Dyes and Metals in Tunisian Textile Dyeing Effluent: Effects on Oxidative Stress Status and Histological Changes in Balb/c Mice

Although it is known that textile wastewater contains highly toxic contaminants whose effects in humans represent public health problems in several countries, studies involving mammal species are scarce. This study was aimed to evaluate the toxicity profile of 90-days oral administration of textile dyeing effluent (TDE) on oxidative stress status and histological changes of male mice. The TDE was collected from the textile plant of Monastir, Tunisia and evaluated for the metals, aromatic amines, and textile dyes using analytical approaches. Metal analysis by ICP-MS showed that the tested TDE exhibited very high levels of Cr, As, and Sr, which exceeded the wastewater emission limits prescribed by WHO and Tunisian authority. The screening of TDE through UPLC-MS/MS confirmed the presence of two textile dyes: a triphenylmethane dye (Crystal violet) and a disperse azo dye (Disperse yellow 3). Exposure to TDE significantly altered the malondialdehyde (MDA), Conjugated dienes (CDs), Sulfhydryl proteins (SHP) and catalase levels in the hepatic and renal tissues. Furthermore, histopathology observation showed that hepatocellular and renal lesions were induced by TDE exposure. The present study concluded that TDE may involve induction of oxidative stress which ensues in pathological lesions in several vital organs suggesting its high toxicity. Metals and textile dyes may be associated with the observed toxicological effects of the TDE. These pollutants, which may have seeped into surrounding rivers in Monastir city, can cause severe health malaise in wildlife and humans.