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Publications compiled by RStudio software on the subject groundwater contamination by pharmaceuticals and its human risk. The A co-occurrence of Keywords-Plus was constructed by VOSviewer software and the B collaboration network by Bibliometrix software. Note: The search was limited to publications between 2019 and 2023 with the following title, abstract, or keyword expressions: “groundwater” or “ground water” and “human risk” or “human health” and “pharmaceutical*” or “drug*” (n = 647 documents)
Source publication
Groundwater contamination by pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) has been considered a public health concern worldwide. Alongside the potential toxicological risk of these organic substances, many countries still rely on groundwater for drinking water supply. Thus, this study identified a priority list of seven licit PhACs, comprising acetami...
Citations
... The adverse effects of antibiotics on aquatic ecosystems predominantly result from their introduction via inadequate wastewater treatment (Kim and Aga 2007;Kovalakova et al. 2020). This introduction disrupts aquatic biodiversity and can promote the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which poses a substantial public health risk (Wang et al. 2024;Ajulo and Awosile 2024;Klanovicz and Pinto 2024;Thibodeau et al. 2024). It is worth noting that antibiotics, through their negative toxic effects on aquatic organisms such as bacteria, crustaceans, algae, and fish, significantly impact essential ecosystem functions like organic matter decomposition, nitrification processes, and enzymes activity (Le Page et al. 2017;Felis et al. 2020;Wang et al. 2022b;Feng et al. 2022;Gracia-Marín et al. 2024). ...
Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is a popular active substance, which is extensively applied to treat bacterial infections in humans and animals. Due to its widespread use, SMX enters the natural environment, where it can undergo degradation. Similarly to other emerging contaminants, SMX photodegradation and the use of oxidants in wastewater treatment processes can lead to the formation of potentially adverse transformation products for ecosystems. This study investigated the efficiency of SMX photodegradation in the presence of oxidizing agents (H2O2 and Fenton reagent). The potential environmental consequences of degradation product formation were analyzed based on experimental toxicity characterization. Standardized tests employing diverse organisms were utilized: Alivibrio fischeri (Microtox®), Daphnia magna (Daphtoxkit F®), and Lemna minor (Lemna sp. GIT). The potential environmental impact of the products identified in the reaction mixtures was evaluated using parameters describing aqueous solubility, hydrophobicity, toxicity, bioconcentration, persistence, and mobility. The analysis revealed that photodegradation produces transformation products with higher toxicity than SMX, as confirmed by in vitro tests of the reaction mixtures. Most of the detected compounds were found to have low mobility potential. The formation rates of key environmentally relevant transformation products, such as 1,4-benzoquinone, aniline, and phenol, were also discussed. The changes in total organic carbon (TOC) affected by photodegradation under the influence of the considered oxidizing agents were characterized.
