Aquatic systems, particularly in rural areas, may be
contaminated by antimicrobials from wastewater
treatment effluent or diffuse pollution. Recent investigations
of pharmaceutical contaminants in surface
waters in the United States and Europe revealed the
presence of antimicrobials such as synthetic and naturally
derived antibiotics used in human and veterinary
medicine. The fate of these antimicrobials in the
aquatic environment, along with the rising trend of
antibacterial resistance in aquatic and soil microorganisms,
is poorly understood.
This research was designed to investigate the removal
of antimicrobials in multistage filtration, provide information
for rural communities affected by antimicrobial
surface water pollution, identify topics for future
research, and aid environmental and human health risk
assessments. The study examined schmutzdecke sorption
behavior and removal efficiencies in a pilot roughing and
slow sand filter fed 0.2 mg/L of five compounds from
four classes of antimicrobials. Aqueous antimicrobial
concentrations were analyzed by high-performance liquid
chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Includes 39 references, tables, figures.