0000000000808315
AUTHOR
Helmut Segner
Toward sustainable environmental quality : Priority research questions for Europe
P.J. Van den Brink et al.
Bioavailability of pharmaceuticals in waters close to wastewater treatment plants: Use of fish bile for exposure assessment
Pharmaceuticals are ubiquitous in surface waters as a consequence of discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants. However, few studies have assessed the bioavailability of pharmaceuticals to fish in natural waters. In the present study, passive samplers and rainbow trout were experimentally deployed next to three municipal wastewater treatment plants in Finland to evaluate the degree of animal exposure. Pharmaceuticals from several therapeutic classes (in total 15) were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in extracts of passive samplers and in bile and blood plasma of rainbow trout held at polluted sites for 10 d. Each approach indicated the highest exposure…