Elimination of drugs of abuse and their toxicity from natural waters by photo-Fenton treatment.

This paper investigates the elimination of drugs of abuse from six different chemical classes and their metabolites in natural fluvial waters (nearby the output of a sewage system). Mineralization of these substances and toxicological characterization before and after treatment by a heterogeneous photo-Fenton system has been evaluated. This advanced oxidation technology was able to significantly reduce the concentration of the drugs of abuse in all the tested conditions (different hydrogen peroxide and catalyst loadings). However, toxicological analyses measured as inhibition of fern spore mitochondrial activity, showed only a complete elimination of acute and chronic toxicity when a higher solid catalyst loading was used (0.6 g/L). A lower catalyst loading of 0.2 g/L was not enough for toxicity elimination. These results evidence the need for combining toxicological tests and chemical analyses in order to establish the effectiveness of the water treatment technologies based on advanced oxidation processes.

Phthalate occurrence in rivers and tap water from central Spain.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the presence and concentrations of the main phthalates in water from the Jarama and Manzanares rivers in the region of Madrid (RM, Central Spain), the most densely populated region of Spain, and to determine the possible oestrogenic activity based on found phthalate concentration. The presence of phthalates in major supply drinking water areas of the RM was also analysed, thus allowing a preliminary assessment of the health risks resulting from the concentrations obtained. The results of this study show the presence of the three (dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP) di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP)) of five phthalates studied (dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), benzyl-butyl phthalate (BBP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP)). The DBP was found in both river and tap water samplers, whereas DMP and DEP were found in only drinking water samples. The DBP was found to make the highest average contribution to pollution in both river and tap water. The DEHP was not found in both the river and tap water because it is one of the most regulated phthalates. The highest phthalate contamination was found in the Manzanares river and in those areas that receive treated water from the Tagus river. The phthalates found in river and tap water in the RM do not represent a potential oestrogenic risk for the aquatic environment or humans. A preliminary risk assessment suggested that the risk of exposure to phthalates from tap water in this study is acceptable, although continuous monitoring of the presence of these substances in both drinking and river water should be undertaken to detect possible increases in their concentrations. This is the first study to analyse the presence of phthalates in both rivers and drinking water of the centre of Spain.

Preliminary assessment of terrestrial microalgae isolated from lichens as testing species for environmental monitoring: lichen phycobionts present high sensitivity to environmental micropollutants.

Bioassays constitute a tool for pollution analysis providing a holistic approach and high-quality indication of the toxicity. Microbioassays allow evaluating the toxicity of many samples, implying lower costs and enabling routine monitoring and pollution control. But tests conducted so far are limited to the use of a small number of taxa. Lichens are excellent bioindicators of pollution with great ecological significance. Studies show that the phycobiont is more sensitive to pollutants than the mycobiont. Phycobiont have features such as adaptation to anhydrobiosis and relatively rapid growth in vitro, making them suitable for microbioassays. Our aim is to determine the sensitivity of phycobionts to the pharmaceutical micropollutants carbamazepine and diclofenac as a preliminary step for the development of a toxicity microbioassay based on phycobionts. Optical dispersion and chlorophyll autofluorescence were used as endpoints of toxicity on two algal species showing that suspensions present cyclic and taxon specific patterns of aggregation. Trebouxia TR9 suspensions present a very high grade of aggregation while Asterochloris erici cells do not. Both micropollutants alter optical properties of the suspensions of both species. No significant alteration of chlorophyll autofluorescence by carbamazepine is observed. A. erici chlorophyll autofluorescence is extremely sensitive to diclofenac but the effect is not dependent on the drug concentration or on the time of exposure. Differently, TR9 only shows punctual chlorophyll alterations. Fluctuations in optical dispersion may indicate changes in the population structure of the species, including reproductive strategy. A. erici seems more sensitive to micropollutants, is better characterized and is available from commercial collections.