Occurrence and removal of drugs and endocrine disruptors in the Bolonha Water Treatment Plant in Belém/PA -Brazil-.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the occur- rence of drugs and endocrine disrupters in water sup- plies and in water for human consumption. Twelve

sampling campaigns were carried out during the rainy and dry season at four sampling points in the Bolonha Complex, in the city of Belém, northern region of Brazil: Bolonha reservoir (catchment) and Water Treatment Plant (WTP) Bolonha (fltered water chamber, treated water tank, and washing water from the flters). The determination of the compounds was performed by solid phase extraction followed by gas

and liquid chromatography coupled to mass spec- trometry. The results confrmed the anthropic infu- ence that the reservoir and WTP-Bolonha have been

sufering, as consequence of the discharge of domes- tic sewage in natura. Among 25 microcontaminants

analyzed, 12 were quantifed in raw water and 10 in treated water. The antiallergic Loratadine (LRT) was the contaminant that occurred most frequently in all sample points, having been poorly removed (median 12%) in the conventional treatment used. Losartana (LST), 4-octylphenol (4-OP), and Bisphenol A (BPA)

also occurred very frequently in raw water with con- centrations ranging from 3.7 to 194 ng L−1. Although

such contaminants occurred in treated water in con- centrations varying from 4.0 to 135 ng L−1, the esti- mated margin of exposure ranged from 55 to 3333

times which indicates low risk of human exposure to such contaminants through ingestion of treated water.