Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products PPCPs in the Ontario Environment

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Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products (PPCPs)
in the Ontario Environment
Presented by Sonya Kleywegt Standards
Development Branch Ministry of the Environment
Presented to EnviroPharm 2007 April 30,
2007
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Purpose of the Presentation

• To provide information on the Ministry of the
  Environments (MOEs) initiatives and the current
  state of knowledge with respect to
  pharmaceuticals and personal care products
  (PPCPs) in the Ontario environment.

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Contents

• Background on PPCPs
• Origins and Fate
• MOE Structure, Roles and Responsibilities
• MOE program Goals and Activities
• PPCPs in the Ontario Environment and
  Collaborative Research Projects
• Wastewater
• Surface Water
• Finished Water
• Guidelines in Other Jurisdictions
• Gaps and Needs
• Next Steps

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Background

• PPCPs are a diverse group of biologically active
  chemical compounds that include pharmaceuticals,
  antibiotics, steroids, synthetic hormones, and
  surfactants.
• There are thousands of compounds commercially
  available in Canada, while analytical methods
  have been developed for the detection of about
  150 compounds in environmental samples.
• Low levels of PPCPs have been detected in the
  Ontario environment.
• Academic studies over the last 6-7 years have
  implicated PPCPs as the cause of subtle endocrine
  changes in fish and humans.
• The MOE has been involved in research initiatives
  involving PPCPs for about 5 years.

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Origins and Fate of PPCPs in the Environment

• Domestic Agricultural
• Hospital waste
• Septic systems
• Biosolid land application
• Bathing/ swimming
• Industrial discharge
• Landfills
• Aquaculture
• Pest control
• Transport and fate

U.S.Environmental Protection Agency
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MOE Structure
Minister Deputy Minister
Communications Branch
Drinking Water Management
Environmental Science and Standards
Integrated Environmental Planning
Operations
Corporate Management
Environmental Innovations and Emerging Sciences
(EIESB)
Standards Development (SDB)
Laboratory Services (LaSB)
Environmental Monitoring and Reporting (EMRB)
Drive Clean
Transboundary Air Unit
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MOE Program Goals

• The MOEs goals are to
• support and encourage research initiatives and
  studies related to PPCPs in the environment
• build a database of background concentrations of
  PPCPs in all media to support setting
  scientifically defensible policies (standards or
  guidelines) if warranted and
• minimize / eliminate PPCP discharges to the
  environment.

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MOE Program Activities

• Develop working analytical methods to monitor the
  concentrations of PPCPs in drinking water,
  surface waters and sewage effluent (Yang et al.,
  2006 Anal Bioanal Chem 2006). Two additional
  publications are in process.
• Quantify PPCP concentrations in particular media
  at point and non-point sources (municipal sewage
  influent, effluent, biosolids, source water and
  municipal drinking water plants) (Lishman et al.,
  2006 Sci Tot Env and Smyth et al., 2006
  Chemosphere). Two additional publications are in
  process.
• Minimize / eliminate PPCP discharges
• Optimization of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP)
  operation
• Evaluation and/or development of new technologies
  for removal from water treatment plants
• Controlling activities quantities of biosolids
  and manure used in agricultural settings.

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PPCPs and EDCs detected in Wastewater Globally
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PPCPs and EDCs detected in Wastewater in Ontario
Metcalfe et al., 2003 Lishman et al., 2006

• It is difficult to compare jurisdictions due
  to different wastewater treatment requirements
  and use.
• Reported Ontario data are generally lower than
  those reported internationally.

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Research on PPCPs in Wastewater

• MOE is collaborating with
• Environment Canada (EC) to monitor sewage
  influent and effluent in several WWTPs in
  southern Ontario for pharmaceuticals and musks
• EC to evaluate a new technology (Moving Bed
  BioReactors MBBR) versus conventional treatment
  and the removal of PPCPs at different stages of
  wastewater treatment
• Carlton University to evaluate the removal or
  partitioning of these compounds to the solids
  stream, and the optimization of aerobic and
  anaerobic processes
• University of Waterloo to assess the impact of
  operating conditions on the removal of PPCPs in
  wastewater
• Trent University to conduct Tier 1 screening
  assays (for endocrine disruption) on fish.

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Thames River Survey Lishman et al., 2006

• The objective was to expand the Ontario database
  of municipal wastewater influent and effluent
  levels of PPCPs and determine if 3 treatment
  configurations (lagoons, CAS and CAS plus
  filtration) affected the levels.
• 12 WWTPs for 3 consecutive days in the fall.
• Most frequently detected in the influent were
  (ng/L) ibuprofen (13 700), triclosan (1900),
  gemfibrozil (450) and naproxen (560) and
  diclofenac (200).
• Reduction of ibuprofen and naproxen from influent
  to effluent was consistently high (89-99).
• Lagoon systems showed the best reduction
  performance.
• Polycyclic musks Galaxolide and tonalide were
  detected in all influents (5200 and 2000 ng/L).

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PPCPs and EDCs detected in Surface Water Globally
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PPCPs and EDCs detected in Surface Water in
Ontario
Metcalfe et al., 2003 Lishman et al., 2006
(influent)

• Reported Ontario data are similar to those
  reported internationally.
• Values of some compounds are at concentrations
  that have been shown to elicit biological
  responses in laboratory settings.

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Research on PPCPs in Surface Water

• MOE is collaborating with
• Trent University to incorporate passive water
  samplers for PPCPs into the Great Lakes
  Monitoring network
• Guelph University to characterize the
  environmental effects of pharmaceuticals to
  ecosystems and,
• Agriculture Agri-Food Canada to review Best
  Management Practices for the land application of
  biosolids to minimize movement to tile drains and
  surface water.

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PPCPs and EDCs detected in Finished Drinking
Water Globally
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Pharmaceuticals detected in Finished Drinking
Water in Ontario
Kormos et al., 2006 unpublished

• Ontario data are very similar to those being
  detected in
• other countries.
• Values are well below the predicted human
  therapeutic level.

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Research on PPCPs in Drinking Water

• MOE is collaborating with
• University of Waterloo to conduct monitoring
  studies in drinking water plants and GUDI
  (groundwater under direct influence of surface
  water) wells for seasonal variations and PPCP
  removal
• American Water Works Association Research
  Foundation to study the occurrence of PPCPs in
  the Detroit River and the efficiency of ozonation
  in removing these contaminants.
• University of Ottawa and the Walkerton Clean
  Water Centre to implement a novel membrane
  technology and assess its potential removal of
  PPCPs from finished drinking water.
• University of Toronto to study various membranes
  and operating conditions for potential removal of
  PPCPs.

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Provincial wide survey of PPCPs in Ontario
drinking water supplies

• The objective was to provide information on PPCP
  levels in source and drinking water determine
  any temporal trends in PPCP levels and, determine
  if drinking water system processes are effective
  at reducing or removing PPCPs.
• 250 source and finished water samples were
  collected at 17 WTPs over an 18 month period and
  were analyzed for 51 parameters by LC/MS/MS.
• All results for source and finished waters were
  reported in the very low ng/L range.
• Results indicate that existing drinking water
  treatment processes are able to decrease the
  levels of PPCPs and endocrine disrupting
  compounds in the finished water.
• The most frequently detected compounds were
  Gemfibrozil (lipid regulating agent),
  Carbamazepine (anti-epileptic drug) and Bisphenol
  A (plasticizor).

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Gaps and Needs

• There is limited analytical capacity and method
  development. MOE, Environment Canada and Trent
  University provide the majority of the analysis.
• It is difficult to assess the long-term effects
  to humans or aquatic ecosystems from chronic,
  low-level, exposure to mixtures of PPCPs.
• There is a need to
• assess the uncertainty regarding the development
  of antibiotic microbial resistance
• consolidate research activities and synchronize
  efforts associated with PPCPs to be consistent in
  a Canadian context and, when possible, with other
  jurisdictions and,
• support a consensual approach to determine how
  science and policy can be integrated in
  developing guidelines, advisories, best
  management practices and standards.

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Guidelines in Other Jurisdictions

• In 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  determined that an environmental risk assessment
  should be conducted for new human-use drugs if
  the average predicted environmental concentration
  of a drug is above 1 mg/L (1000 ng/L). The EU
  has set this limit at 0.01 mg/L (2006).
• The United States Safe Drinking Water Act has
  determined a screening program for EDCs.
• Health Canada and Environment Canada are
  responsible for CEPA which requires that all new
  substances be assessed for risk to human health,
  risk to environment on which Canadians depend and
  the environment New Substances Notification
  Regulations (gt100 kg active ingredient).

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Next Steps

• Continue to encourage, contribute to and
  participate in investigations and research
  related to PPCPs and EDCs.
• Complete current monitoring and research projects
  to determine priorities for further action (ie.,
  screening level risk assessment for human
  health).
• Work towards developing policy recommendations to
  set scientifically defensible standards or
  guidelines if warranted.

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Questions?

• Contact information
• Dr. S. Kleywegt (sonya.kleywegt_at_ontario.ca)
• Dr. S. Tabe (shahram.tabe_at_ontario.ca)
• Dr. P. Yang (paul.yang_at_ontario.ca)