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Pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers

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Pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers. / Wilkinson, John L.; Boxall, Alistair B. A.; Kolpin, Dana W. et al.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 119, No. 8, e2113947119, 22.02.2022.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Wilkinson, JL, Boxall, ABA, Kolpin, DW, Leung, KMY, Lai, RWS, Galbán-Malagón, C, Adell, AD, Mondon, J, Metian, M, Marchant, RA, Bouzas-Monroy, A, Cuni-Sanchez, A, Coors, A, Carriquiriborde, P, Rojo, M, Gordon, C, Cara, M, Moermond, M, Luarte, T, Petrosyan, V, Perikhanyan, Y, Mahon, CS, McGurk, CJ, Hofmann, T, Kormoker, T, Iniguez, V, Guzman-Otazo, J, Tavares, JL, Gildasio De Figueiredo, F, Razzolini, MTP, Dougnon, V, Gbaguidi, G, Traoré, O, Blais, JM, Kimpe, LE, Wong, M, Wong, D, Ntchantcho, R, Pizarro, J, Ying, G-G, Chen, C-E, Páez, M, Martínez-Lara, J, Otamonga, J-P, Poté, J, Ifo, SA, Wilson, P, Echeverría-Sáenz, S, Udikovic-Kolic, N, Milakovic, M, Fatta-Kassinos, D, Ioannou-Ttofa, L, Belušová, V, Vymazal, J, Cárdenas-Bustamante, M, Kassa, BA, Garric, J, Chaumot, A, Gibba, P, Kunchulia, I, Seidensticker, S, Lyberatos, G, Halldórsson, HP, Melling, M, Shashidhar, T, Lamba, M, Nastiti, A, Supriatin, A, Pourang, N, Abedini, A, Abdullah, O, Gharbia, SS, Pilla, F, Chefetz, B, Topaz, T, Yao, KM, Aubakirova, B, Beisenova, R, Olaka, L, Mulu, JK, Chatanga, P, Ntuli, V, Blama, NT, Sherif, S, Aris, AZ, Looi, LJ, Niang, M, Traore, ST, Oldenkamp, R, Ogunbanwo, O, Ashfaq, M, Iqbal, M, Abdeen, Z, O’Dea, A, Morales-Saldaña, JM, Custodio, M, de la Cruz, H, Navarrete, I, Carvalho, F, Gogra, AB, Koroma, BM, Cerkvenik-Flajs, V, Gombač, M, Thwala, M, Choi, K, Kang, H, Ladu, JLC, Rico, A, Amerasinghe, P, Sobek, A, Horlitz, G, Zenker, AK, King, AC, Jiang, J-J, Kariuki, R, Tumbo, M, Tezel, U, Onay, TT, Lejju, JB, Vystavna, Y, Vergeles, Y, Heinzen, H, Pérez-Parada, A, Sims, DB, Figy, M, Good, D & Teta, C 2022, 'Pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 119, no. 8, e2113947119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2113947119

APA

Wilkinson, J. L., Boxall, A. B. A., Kolpin, D. W., Leung, K. M. Y., Lai, R. W. S., Galbán-Malagón, C., Adell, A. D., Mondon, J., Metian, M., Marchant, R. A., Bouzas-Monroy, A., Cuni-Sanchez, A., Coors, A., Carriquiriborde, P., Rojo, M., Gordon, C., Cara, M., Moermond, M., Luarte, T., ... Teta, C. (2022). Pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(8), Article e2113947119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2113947119

Vancouver

Wilkinson JL, Boxall ABA, Kolpin DW, Leung KMY, Lai RWS, Galbán-Malagón C et al. Pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2022 Feb 22;119(8):e2113947119. Epub 2022 Feb 14. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2113947119

Author

Wilkinson, John L. ; Boxall, Alistair B. A. ; Kolpin, Dana W. et al. / Pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2022 ; Vol. 119, No. 8.

Bibtex

@article{ba897a5aedfe4d0d9b01caa64b8c8f86,
title = "Pharmaceutical pollution of the world{\textquoteright}s rivers",
abstract = "Despite growing evidence of the deleterious effects on ecological and human health, little is known regarding the global occurrence of pharmaceuticals in rivers. Studies assessing their occurrence are available for 75 of 196 countries, with most research conducted in North America and Western Europe. This leaves large geographical regions relatively unstudied. Here, we present the findings of a global reconnaissance of pharmaceutical pollution in rivers. The study monitored 1,052 sampling sites along 258 rivers in 104 countries of all continents, thus representing the pharmaceutical fingerprint of 471.4 million people. We show that the presence of these contaminants in surface water poses a threat to environmental and/or human health in more than a quarter of the studied locations globally.Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world{\textquoteright}s rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.",
author = "Wilkinson, {John L.} and Boxall, {Alistair B. A.} and Kolpin, {Dana W.} and Leung, {Kenneth M. Y.} and Lai, {Racliffe W. S.} and Crist{\'o}bal Galb{\'a}n-Malag{\'o}n and Adell, {Aiko D.} and Julie Mondon and Marc Metian and Marchant, {Robert A.} and Alejandra Bouzas-Monroy and Aida Cuni-Sanchez and Anja Coors and Pedro Carriquiriborde and Macarena Rojo and Chris Gordon and Magdalena Cara and Monique Moermond and Thais Luarte and Vahagn Petrosyan and Yekaterina Perikhanyan and Mahon, {Clare S.} and McGurk, {Christopher J.} and Thilo Hofmann and Tapos Kormoker and Volga Iniguez and Jessica Guzman-Otazo and Tavares, {Jean L.} and {Gildasio De Figueiredo}, Francisco and Razzolini, {Maria T. P.} and Victorien Dougnon and Gildas Gbaguidi and Oumar Traor{\'e} and Blais, {Jules M.} and Kimpe, {Linda E.} and Michelle Wong and Donald Wong and Romaric Ntchantcho and Jaime Pizarro and Guang-Guo Ying and Chang-Er Chen and Martha P{\'a}ez and Jina Mart{\'i}nez-Lara and Jean-Paul Otamonga and John Pot{\'e} and Ifo, {Suspense A.} and Penelope Wilson and Silvia Echeverr{\'i}a-S{\'a}enz and Nikolina Udikovic-Kolic and Milena Milakovic and Despo Fatta-Kassinos and Lida Ioannou-Ttofa and Vladim{\'i}ra Belu{\v s}ov{\'a} and Jan Vymazal and Mar{\'i}a C{\'a}rdenas-Bustamante and Kassa, {Bayable A.} and Jeanne Garric and Arnaud Chaumot and Peter Gibba and Ilia Kunchulia and Sven Seidensticker and Gerasimos Lyberatos and Halld{\'o}rsson, {Halld{\'o}r P.} and Molly Melling and Thatikonda Shashidhar and Manisha Lamba and Anindrya Nastiti and Adee Supriatin and Nima Pourang and Ali Abedini and Omar Abdullah and Gharbia, {Salem S.} and Francesco Pilla and Benny Chefetz and Tom Topaz and Yao, {Koffi Marcellin} and Bakhyt Aubakirova and Raikhan Beisenova and Lydia Olaka and Mulu, {Jemimah K.} and Peter Chatanga and Victor Ntuli and Blama, {Nathaniel T.} and Sheck Sherif and Aris, {Ahmad Zaharin} and Looi, {Ley Juen} and Mahamoudane Niang and Traore, {Seydou T.} and Rik Oldenkamp and Olatayo Ogunbanwo and Muhammad Ashfaq and Muhammad Iqbal and Ziad Abdeen and Aaron O{\textquoteright}Dea and Morales-Salda{\~n}a, {Jorge Manuel} and Mar{\'i}a Custodio and {de la Cruz}, Heidi and Ian Navarrete and Fabio Carvalho and Gogra, {Alhaji Brima} and Koroma, {Bashiru M.} and Vesna Cerkvenik-Flajs and Mitja Gomba{\v c} and Melusi Thwala and Kyungho Choi and Habyeong Kang and Ladu, {John L. Celestino} and Andreu Rico and Priyanie Amerasinghe and Anna Sobek and Gisela Horlitz and Zenker, {Armin K.} and King, {Alex C.} and Jheng-Jie Jiang and Rebecca Kariuki and Madaka Tumbo and Ulas Tezel and Onay, {Turgut T.} and Lejju, {Julius B.} and Yuliya Vystavna and Yuriy Vergeles and Horacio Heinzen and Andr{\'e}s P{\'e}rez-Parada and Sims, {Douglas B.} and Maritza Figy and David Good and Charles Teta",
year = "2022",
month = feb,
day = "22",
doi = "10.1073/pnas.2113947119",
language = "English",
volume = "119",
journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
issn = "0027-8424",
publisher = "National Academy of Sciences",
number = "8",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Pharmaceutical pollution of the world’s rivers

AU - Wilkinson, John L.

AU - Boxall, Alistair B. A.

AU - Kolpin, Dana W.

AU - Leung, Kenneth M. Y.

AU - Lai, Racliffe W. S.

AU - Galbán-Malagón, Cristóbal

AU - Adell, Aiko D.

AU - Mondon, Julie

AU - Metian, Marc

AU - Marchant, Robert A.

AU - Bouzas-Monroy, Alejandra

AU - Cuni-Sanchez, Aida

AU - Coors, Anja

AU - Carriquiriborde, Pedro

AU - Rojo, Macarena

AU - Gordon, Chris

AU - Cara, Magdalena

AU - Moermond, Monique

AU - Luarte, Thais

AU - Petrosyan, Vahagn

AU - Perikhanyan, Yekaterina

AU - Mahon, Clare S.

AU - McGurk, Christopher J.

AU - Hofmann, Thilo

AU - Kormoker, Tapos

AU - Iniguez, Volga

AU - Guzman-Otazo, Jessica

AU - Tavares, Jean L.

AU - Gildasio De Figueiredo, Francisco

AU - Razzolini, Maria T. P.

AU - Dougnon, Victorien

AU - Gbaguidi, Gildas

AU - Traoré, Oumar

AU - Blais, Jules M.

AU - Kimpe, Linda E.

AU - Wong, Michelle

AU - Wong, Donald

AU - Ntchantcho, Romaric

AU - Pizarro, Jaime

AU - Ying, Guang-Guo

AU - Chen, Chang-Er

AU - Páez, Martha

AU - Martínez-Lara, Jina

AU - Otamonga, Jean-Paul

AU - Poté, John

AU - Ifo, Suspense A.

AU - Wilson, Penelope

AU - Echeverría-Sáenz, Silvia

AU - Udikovic-Kolic, Nikolina

AU - Milakovic, Milena

AU - Fatta-Kassinos, Despo

AU - Ioannou-Ttofa, Lida

AU - Belušová, Vladimíra

AU - Vymazal, Jan

AU - Cárdenas-Bustamante, María

AU - Kassa, Bayable A.

AU - Garric, Jeanne

AU - Chaumot, Arnaud

AU - Gibba, Peter

AU - Kunchulia, Ilia

AU - Seidensticker, Sven

AU - Lyberatos, Gerasimos

AU - Halldórsson, Halldór P.

AU - Melling, Molly

AU - Shashidhar, Thatikonda

AU - Lamba, Manisha

AU - Nastiti, Anindrya

AU - Supriatin, Adee

AU - Pourang, Nima

AU - Abedini, Ali

AU - Abdullah, Omar

AU - Gharbia, Salem S.

AU - Pilla, Francesco

AU - Chefetz, Benny

AU - Topaz, Tom

AU - Yao, Koffi Marcellin

AU - Aubakirova, Bakhyt

AU - Beisenova, Raikhan

AU - Olaka, Lydia

AU - Mulu, Jemimah K.

AU - Chatanga, Peter

AU - Ntuli, Victor

AU - Blama, Nathaniel T.

AU - Sherif, Sheck

AU - Aris, Ahmad Zaharin

AU - Looi, Ley Juen

AU - Niang, Mahamoudane

AU - Traore, Seydou T.

AU - Oldenkamp, Rik

AU - Ogunbanwo, Olatayo

AU - Ashfaq, Muhammad

AU - Iqbal, Muhammad

AU - Abdeen, Ziad

AU - O’Dea, Aaron

AU - Morales-Saldaña, Jorge Manuel

AU - Custodio, María

AU - de la Cruz, Heidi

AU - Navarrete, Ian

AU - Carvalho, Fabio

AU - Gogra, Alhaji Brima

AU - Koroma, Bashiru M.

AU - Cerkvenik-Flajs, Vesna

AU - Gombač, Mitja

AU - Thwala, Melusi

AU - Choi, Kyungho

AU - Kang, Habyeong

AU - Ladu, John L. Celestino

AU - Rico, Andreu

AU - Amerasinghe, Priyanie

AU - Sobek, Anna

AU - Horlitz, Gisela

AU - Zenker, Armin K.

AU - King, Alex C.

AU - Jiang, Jheng-Jie

AU - Kariuki, Rebecca

AU - Tumbo, Madaka

AU - Tezel, Ulas

AU - Onay, Turgut T.

AU - Lejju, Julius B.

AU - Vystavna, Yuliya

AU - Vergeles, Yuriy

AU - Heinzen, Horacio

AU - Pérez-Parada, Andrés

AU - Sims, Douglas B.

AU - Figy, Maritza

AU - Good, David

AU - Teta, Charles

PY - 2022/2/22

Y1 - 2022/2/22

N2 - Despite growing evidence of the deleterious effects on ecological and human health, little is known regarding the global occurrence of pharmaceuticals in rivers. Studies assessing their occurrence are available for 75 of 196 countries, with most research conducted in North America and Western Europe. This leaves large geographical regions relatively unstudied. Here, we present the findings of a global reconnaissance of pharmaceutical pollution in rivers. The study monitored 1,052 sampling sites along 258 rivers in 104 countries of all continents, thus representing the pharmaceutical fingerprint of 471.4 million people. We show that the presence of these contaminants in surface water poses a threat to environmental and/or human health in more than a quarter of the studied locations globally.Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world’s rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

AB - Despite growing evidence of the deleterious effects on ecological and human health, little is known regarding the global occurrence of pharmaceuticals in rivers. Studies assessing their occurrence are available for 75 of 196 countries, with most research conducted in North America and Western Europe. This leaves large geographical regions relatively unstudied. Here, we present the findings of a global reconnaissance of pharmaceutical pollution in rivers. The study monitored 1,052 sampling sites along 258 rivers in 104 countries of all continents, thus representing the pharmaceutical fingerprint of 471.4 million people. We show that the presence of these contaminants in surface water poses a threat to environmental and/or human health in more than a quarter of the studied locations globally.Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world’s rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.2113947119

DO - 10.1073/pnas.2113947119

M3 - Journal article

VL - 119

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

SN - 0027-8424

IS - 8

M1 - e2113947119

ER -