pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment€¦ · personal care products in the...
TRANSCRIPT
Pharmaceuticals andPersonal Care Products in the
Environment
Rebecca HarveySquam Lakes Association
Outline• Intro to PPCPs
– Definitions
– Occurrence and Fate
– Effects
– Regulations
• PPCPs in NH– Adapting a Method
– Pilot Study
– Limiting the Impact
What Are They?
• Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs)
Perfumes
Occurrence and Fate
Wastewater Treatment Facilities
Environment Drinking Water
pg/L
ng/L (ppt)
μg/L (ppb)
mg/L
PPCP
Con
centratio
n
g/L
Occurrence and Fate
Acute toxicity range
Chronic toxicity range
Environmental Effects
• Antibiotic resistance in bacteria and viruses
Environmental Effects
• Feminization/abnormalities of frogs and fish
• Bird and fish population decline/collapse
PPCPs in New Hampshire
• Establishing an analytical method in‐state
• Determining preliminary occurrence data
PPCPs in New Hampshire
• Establishing an analytical method in‐state– Partnership with NH DES
– Adapted USGS Method using • Solid Phase Extraction • High Performance Liquid Chromatography • Mass Spectrometry
– Target Compounds • Acetaminophen • Caffeine • Carbamazepine• Trimethoprim
PPCPs in New Hampshire
• Determining preliminary occurrence data
PPCPs in New Hampshire
• Squam Lake NH– 6 samples collected
– October 2009
PPCPs in New Hampshire
• Distribution Box
c
From Holding Tank
To Leach Field
PPCPs in New Hampshire
• Pemigewasset
• Winnipesaukee
• Merrimack
• Wastewater Treatment Plants
• 9 samples collected
• October, 2009
PPCPs in New Hampshire
• None of the targetPPCPs found
PPCPs in New Hampshire
Acetaminophen(ng/L)
Caffeine(ng/L)
Carbamazepine(ng/L)
Trimethoprim(ng/L)
Distribution Box >2,000 >2,000
c
From Holding Tank
To Leach Field
PPCPs in New Hampshire
Acetaminophen(ng/L)
Caffeine(ng/L)
Carbamazepine(ng/L)
Trimethoprim(ng/L)
Pemi WTP Effluent
720 1200 280
Pemi River 79
Merrimack WTP
Effluent330
WTP Effluent
Aquatic Environment
Drinking Water
pg/L
ng/L (ppt)
μg/L (ppm)
mg/L
PPCP
Con
centratio
n
g/L
PPCPs in New Hampshire
Acute toxicity range
Chronic toxicity range
Conclusions
• Appears to be no risk of acute toxicity to target PPCPs in sampled lakes and rivers
• Chronic toxicity cannot be ruled out
• Other PPCPs or their metabolites may be present
Limiting The Impact
Things You Can Do
• Don’t Rush to Flush!
• Fill prescriptions as needed
• Drug Take‐Back Programs
• Educate
Things We Can Do
• Optimize the effectiveness of prescriptions
• Sustainable farming/cattle practices
• Improve WTP technology
Thank You!
• NH Water Resources Research Center, UNH
• Squam Lakes Conservation Society
• Squam Lakes Association
• Plymouth State University
• NH Department of Environmental Services
• Field Volunteers
• Committee and Advisor
Questions ?