Drugs Detected in Rivers and Sewage Effluent in Tokyo Region

A Japanese research team has detected human and veterinary pharmaceuticals in river water and sewage treatment plant effluent in Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the greater Tokyo metropolitan area. The team, including Professor Shigeki Masunaga of Yokohama National University and his doctoral student Atsuko Seino, presented the findings in March 2004.

The researchers focused on two urban rivers, the Tama and Tsurumi Rivers, as well as the Kaname River, into which livestock and agricultural waste water is discharged. They also conducted a study of effluent from sewage treatment plants as well, collecting a total of 25 samples at four different times.

The study showed that all of the samples contained carbamazepine, an anti-epileptic drug, and that 24 out of the 25 samples also contained propranolol, an anti-arrhythmic drug. Several synthetic antibacterial agents, such as sulfamethoxazole, were also detected in many samples. Generally, human pharmaceuticals were found at higher concentrations in effluent from sewage treatment plants than in river water.

In recent years, attention is being paid to the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care chemicals in the environment in Europe and the US. Research efforts to identify such pharmaceuticals have been launched in Japan as well. The data so far obtained indicate that concentrations of pharmaceuticals detected in Japan are generally equal to or below the concentrations found in Western countries. There is, however, growing concern over these drugs' potential effects on the ecosystem and the spread of drug-resistant bacteria in the environment.



Posted: 2004/12/01 04:04:55 PM
Japanese version