Active pharmaceutical ingredients in Malaysian drinking water: consumption, exposure, and human health risk

This study employed an optimized analytical method comprising solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography –tandem mass spectrometry (SPE–LC–MS/MS) to detect APIs in tap water in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Several therapeutic classes of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, including anti-inflammatory drugs (dexamethasone and diclofenac), antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole and triclosan), antiepileptics (primidone), antibacterial agents (ciprofloxacin), beta-blockers (propranolol), psychoactive stimulants (caffeine), and antiparasitic drugs (diazinon), were detected in the range of <  0.03 to 21.39 ng/L, whereas chloramphenicol (an antibiotic) was below the detection limit (<  0.23 ng/L). A comparison with global data revealed the spatial variability of emerging tap water pollutants. Diclofenac accounted for the highest concentration (21.39 ng/L), followed by triclosan and ciprofloxacin (9.74 ng/L and 8.69 ng/L, respectively). Caffeine was observed in all field samples with the highest distribution at 35.32%. Caffeine and triclosan exhibited significantly different distributions in household tap water (p <  0.05). Humans are exposed to these APIs by drinking the tap water; however, the estimated risk was negligible (risk quotient <  1). APIs are useful water quality monitoring indicators for water resource conservation and water supply safety related to emerging organic contaminants; thus, API detection is important for safeguarding the environm...
Source: Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research