Caffeine and Pharmaceuticals as Indicators of Waste Water Contamination in Wells (original) (raw)
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Caffeine as a chemical tracer for contamination of urban rivers
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The growing urbanization in urban centers have continuously contributed to the deterioration of water quality in rivers. The use of caffeine as a chemical tracer for anthropic activities is an approach to the environmental monitoring of urban waterbodies, as its use is limited to humans and less susceptible to sampling error comparing to other traditional parameters for anthropic pollution. To analyze the possibility of using caffeine as a water quality parameter, the anthropic influence over three watersheds (Atuba, Belem and Palmital) from the Greater Curitiba was observed over five sampling campaigns. The caffeine was analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem diode array detection, after the solid phase extraction. Traditional parameters of water quality monitoring, such as ammoniacal nitrogen, thermotolerant coliforms, biochemical oxygen demand and orthophosphate, were measured for comparison. The results indicate anthropic influence over the basins, probably due to the lack of i...
The Science of the total environment, 2011
Pharmaceutical compounds were detected at low concentrations in 2.3% of 1231 samples of groundwater (median depth to top of screened interval in wells=61 m) used for public drinking-water supply in California. Samples were collected statewide for the California State Water Resources Control Board's Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. Of 14 pharmaceutical compounds analyzed, 7 were detected at concentrations greater than or equal to method detection limits: acetaminophen (used as an analgesic, detection frequency 0.32%, maximum concentration 1.89 μg/L), caffeine (stimulant, 0.24%, 0.29 μg/L), carbamazepine (mood stabilizer, 1.5%, 0.42 μg/L), codeine (opioid analgesic, 0.16%, 0.214 μg/L), p-xanthine (caffeine metabolite, 0.08%, 0.12 μg/L), sulfamethoxazole (antibiotic, 0.41%, 0.17 μg/L), and trimethoprim (antibiotic, 0.08%, 0.018 μg/L). Detection frequencies of pesticides (33%), volatile organic compounds not including trihalomethanes (23%), and trihalome...
Nitrate in Groundwater and Excretion of Nitrate and Nitrosamines in Urine and: A Review
International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR)(2014) Volume 15, No 2, pp 176-191
Nitrate is harmful to humans as it can form endogenous nitrosamines which can cause cancer. The major contribution of nitrate contamination in well water is largely from agricultural activities (e.g.; fertilizers and pesticide), wastewater treatment plant discharge, animal yard and manure storage lagoons. Biomarkers such as urine and saliva can be used to determine the occurrence and formation of nitrosamines in the human body. This paper provides an overview of nitrate occurrence in groundwater and the mechanism of nitrosamines formation and its excretion from human body via urine and saliva. The suitability of urine and saliva as biomarkers of endogenous nitrosamines formation were also discussed in this review.