Source: UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA submitted to
PHARMACEUTICALS IN SURFACE WATERS AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR TRANSFER INTO IRRIGATED AGRICULTURAL CROPS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
NEW
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0218496
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
ARZT-1365680-H21-162
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2009
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2013
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Sanchez, C.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
888 N EUCLID AVE
TUCSON,AZ 85719-4824
Performing Department
Soil, Water & Environmental Science
Non Technical Summary
A number of pharmaceuticals have been detected in surface waters across the United States. Antibiotics present in the environment can produce resistance in microorganisms which could potentially have adverse effects on human health. In addition, while the ecotoxicological significance of trace levels of illicit drugs in surface water are not well understood, their presence cannot be dismissed outright because of their potential to adversely affect biota during prolonged exposure. The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of selected pharmaceuticals (macrolidic antibiotics and pseudoephedrine) and illicit drugs (methamphetamine, Ecstasy) in surface waters of the Colorado River basin and evaluate their potential uptake in food crops irrigated with this water.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1120210200020%
1120310200020%
1120320200010%
7111420200010%
7111430200010%
7111452200010%
7111460200010%
7111461200010%
Goals / Objectives
The objective of this study is to evaluate the presence of selected pharmaceuticals (macrolidic antibiotics and pseudoephedrine) and illicit drugs (methamphetamine, Ecstasy) in surface waters in the southwestern U.S. and evaluate the potential for food chain transfer when pharmaceutical containing waters are used for irrigation.
Project Methods
Samples will be collected spatially and temporally from waste stream tributaries and receiving surface waters in the southwestern U.S. Studies will include greenhouse experiments where selected food crops will be irrigated with water spiked with macrolide antibiotics and field experiments where selected field crops will be irrigated with treated waste water effluent containing one or more macrolide antibiotics, pseudoephedrine, and methamphetamine. Water samples will be prepared for analysis using an automated extractor (AutoTrace, Caliper Life Sciences) with Oasis MCX cartridges (Waters Corp.), subsequently extracted with 5-mLs of 80:20:1 methyl tertbutyl ether/methanol/acetic acid, and 5 mLs 99:1 methanol/acetic acid, and reduced to 0.5 mL using an automated evaporator (TurboVap-Zymark, Caliper Life Sciences). Plant materials will be extracted using a modified pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) technique, followed by a rigorous hexane clean-up. Water extracts and plant PLE extracts will be analyzed by liquid chromatography-electrospray-ion trap mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-ITMS/MS) in the positive ionization collision induced mode (CID) for greater specificity.

Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: A number of pharmaceuticals have been detected in surface waters across the United States. The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of selected pharmaceuticals (macrolidic antibiotics and pseudoephedrine) and illicit drugs (methamphetamine, Ecstasy) in surface waters in the southwestern U.S. and evaluate the potential for food chain transfer when pharmaceutical containing waters are used for irrigation. Samples were collected spatially and temporally from waste stream tributaries and receiving surface waters in the southwestern U.S. Studies included greenhouse experiments where selected food crops were irrigated with water spiked with macrolide antibiotics and field experiments where selected field crops were irrigated with treated waste water effluent containing one or more macrolide antibiotics, pseudoephedrine, and methamphetamine. Water samples were prepared for analysis using an automated extractor (AutoTrace, Caliper Life Sciences) with Oasis MCX cartridges (Waters Corp.), subsequently extracted with 5-mLs of 80:20:1 methyl tertbutyl ether/methanol/acetic acid, and 5 mLs 99:1 methanol/acetic acid, and reduced to 0.5 mL using an automated evaporator (TurboVap-Zymark, Caliper Life Sciences). Plant materials were extracted using a modified pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) technique, followed by a rigorous hexane clean-up. Water extracts and plant PLE extracts were analyzed by liquid chromatography-electrospray-ion trap mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-ITMS/MS) in the positive ionization collision induced mode (CID) for greater specificity. One or more of the pharmaceuticals and/or illicit drugs evaluated were found in urban waste streams at concentrations sometimes exceeding 500 ng/L. However, amounts found in the main surface water channels were always below 10 ng/L and most frequently below detection. The results of the greenhouse and field studies indicate the uptake of one or more of the pharmaceuticals evaluated, albeit at very low-levels, into several of the crops species. PARTICIPANTS: Tammy L Jones-Lepp, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory-Environmental Sciences Division, Las Vegas, NV 89119. David Alvarez, USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
It seems the pharmaceuticals we evaluated are near or below detection in the Colorado River. It also seems the potential for plant uptake is low for those pharmaceuticals we evalauted. Studies with other classes of pharmaceuticals are needed.

Publications

  • Method developement and application to determine potential plant uptake of antibiotics and other drugs in irrigated crop production systems Jones-Lepp, T. L., C. A. Sanchez, T Moy, and R. Kazemi. 2010. Method developement and application to determine potential plant uptake of antibiotics and other drugs in irrigated crop production systems. J. Agric. Food Chem. 58:11568-11573


Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of macrolidic antibiotics and illicit drugs in surface waters of the lower Colorado River region. The first phase was focused on water sampling.Prelimanry results have been presented at scientific meetings. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Waste stream tributaries and receiving surface waters at selected locations in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California were sampled. These water samples were prepared for analysis using an automated extractor with OASIS HLB cartridges, subsequently extracted with 6mLs of 80:20:1 methyl tertbutyl ether/methanol/acetic acid and 8 mLs 99:1 methanol/acetic acid, and reduced to 0.5 mL using an automated TurboVap. Data were collected with a Varian 500MS ion trap mass spectrometer by performing real-time mass analyses of LC eluents. One or more macrolidic antibiotics and/or illicit drugs were found in urban waste streams at concentrations frequently exceeding 100 ng/L. However, amounts found in the main surface water channels diverted for urban use and irrigation, including the Colorado River, were always <10 ng/L and most frequently below detection.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period