Amphetamine-like substances and synthetic cathinones in Portuguese wastewater influents: Enantiomeric profiling and role of suspended particulate matter.

Wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) has been used worldwide to estimate drug consumption routinely. Even though WBE provides valuable data to support legal and health interventions associated to drug use, monitoring studies in Portuguese wastewaters are scarce. Hence, this work aimed to estimate the consumption of some conventional abuse and illicit drugs such as amphetamine (AMP), methamphetamine (MAMP), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and the synthetic cathinones buphedrone (BPD), butylone (BTL), 3,4-dimethylmethcathinone (3,4-DMMC) and 3-methylmethcathinone (3-MMC), considering not only the liquid phase, but also the suspended particulate matter (SPM).

Efficiency of the bank filtration for removing organic priority substances and contaminants of emerging concern: A critical review.

With growing concerns regarding the ecological and human risks of organic micropollutants (OMPs) in water, much effort has been devoted worldwide to establishing quality standards and compiling candidate and watch lists. Although bank filtration is recognized as an efficient natural water treatment in the removal of contaminants such as OMPs, the increase in exploitation requires continuous assessment of removal efficiency. This review aims to provide a critical overview of bank filtration (BF) reports on more than a hundred priority substances (PSs) and compounds of emerging concern (CECs) listed in the relevant European Union regulations.

Exploring the correlations between indicators of COVID-19 and the concentration of pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater treatment plants in Northern Portugal.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus led to changes in the lifestyle and human behaviour, which resulted in different consumption patterns of some classes of pharmaceuticals including curative, symptom-relieving, and psychotropic drugs. The trends in the consumption of these compounds are related to their concentrations in wastewater systems, since incompletely metabolised drugs (or their metabolites back transformed into the parental form) may be detected and quantified by analytical methods. Pharmaceuticals are highly recalcitrant compounds and conventional activated sludge processes implemented in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are ineffective at degrading these substances.

Can aged microplastics be transport vectors for organic micropollutants? - Sorption and phytotoxicity tests.

Microplastics have been investigated over the last decade as potential transport vectors for other pollutants. However, the specific role of plastic aging, in which plastics change their characteristics over time when exposed to environmental agents, has been overlooked. Therefore, sorption experiments were herein conducted using virgin and aged (by ozone treatment or rooftop weathering) microplastic particles of LDPE - low-density polyethylene, PET - poly(ethylene terephthalate), or uPVC - unplasticized poly(vinyl chloride).

Antibiotics removal from aquaculture effluents by ozonation: chemical and toxicity descriptors.

Antibiotics are often applied in aquaculture to prevent fish diseases. These substances can cause disturbances on receiving waters, when not properly eliminated from the aquaculture effluents. In this work, ozone (O) was investigated as a possible oxidizing agent to remove fishery antibiotics from aquaculture effluents: florfenicol (FF), oxytetracycline (OTC), sulfadimethoxine (SDM), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and trimethoprim (TMP).

Advanced oxidation technologies and constructed wetlands in aquaculture farms: What do we know so far about micropollutant removal?

Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal food-producing sector. Water is the central resource for aquaculture, and it is essential that its quality be preserved. Micropollutants (MPs) can reach aquaculture through anthropogenic addition or inlet water, and may cause harmful effects such as endocrine disruption and antibiotic resistance, adversely affecting the fish species being farmed.

Dual enantioselective LC-MS/MS method to analyse chiral drugs in surface water: Monitoring in Douro River estuary.

This work presents the development of an enantioselective method to quantify chiral drugs (CDs) in surface water and its application in the Douro River estuary monitoring. Different classes of CDs were targeted, including 23 compounds, namely beta-blockers, antidepressants, one beta-adrenergic agonist, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, stimulants, and some illicit drugs as cocaine (COC) and its metabolites, and amphetamines. The analytical method was based on an innovative application of solid phase extraction (SPE), followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) using a triple quadrupole analyzer.

Consolidated vs new advanced treatment methods for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern from urban wastewater.

Urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are among the main anthropogenic sources for the release of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) into the environment, which can result in toxic and adverse effects on aquatic organisms and consequently on humans. Unfortunately, WWTPs are not designed to remove CECs and secondary (e.g.