U.S. nationwide reconnaissance of ten infrequently monitored antibiotics in municipal biosolids

Hansa Y. Magee, Megan M. Maurer, April Cobos, Benny F.G. Pycke, Arjun K. Venkatesan, Daniel Magee, Matthew Scotch, Rolf U. Halden

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ten infrequently monitored antibiotics in biosolids were examined in archived American sewage sludges (n = 79) collected as part of the 2006/2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey. This study inspected the occurrence of amoxicillin, ampicillin, erythromycin, furazolidone [proxy metabolite: 3-(2-nitrobenzylidenamino)-2-oxazolidinone (NP-AOZ)], nalidixic acid, oxolinic acid, oxytetracycline, spiramycin, sulfadimidine, and sulfadimethoxine in sewage sludges after nearly a decade in frozen storage. Six antibiotics were detected at the following average concentrations (ng/g dry weight): amoxicillin (1.0), nalidixic acid (19.1), oxolinic acid (2.7), erythromycin (0.6), oxytetracycline (4.5), and ampicillin (14.8). The remaining four were not detected in any samples (<method detection limit, ng/g dry weight): sulfadimethoxine (<0.5), sulfadimidine (<1.0), spiramycin (<2.0), and NP-AOZ (<20.0). This study provides the first data on spiramycin, NP-AOZ, and nalidixic acid in U.S. sewage sludges. This study also provides new data on the losses of 5 antibiotics during long term frozen storage (−20 °C) in comparison to the 2006/2007 U.S. EPA Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)460-467
Number of pages8
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Volume643
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2018
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Waste Management and Disposal
  • Pollution

Keywords

  • Antibiotics
  • Archived samples
  • Biosolids
  • Sewage sludge
  • Storage

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