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Reconnaissance of Wastewater and Drinking Water Sources for Selected Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products and Endocrine Disruptor Compounds in west-central Florida

Project Chief: George R. Kish
Cooperator: County and city utilities in west-central Florida
Period of Project: May 2008 - September 2008

Problem Statement

Sampling apparatus for pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs).

Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and endocrine disruptor compounds continue to receive wide-spread interest among the public regarding their potential presence in drinking water, aquatic environments, and their effects on associated biota. A wide variety of these compounds often referred to as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and endocrine disruptor compounds (EDCs), have been detected at low concentrations in drinking water in the United States. Because of recent public interest, several county utilities and regional water authorities in Florida have collaborated with the USGS to conduct preliminary assessments of drinking water and wastewater for the presence of PPCPs. Recent studies have documented the presence of pharmaceuticals in wastewater and surface water. A systematic national reconnaissance of U.S. drinking water sources was published in 2008. Another study detected 21 of 113 pharmaceuticals, detergent degradates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other organic compounds in finished water from conventional water-treatment from a surface-water source.

Objectives

The objective of the project was to determine the presence or absence of PPCPs in drinking water and wastewater from selected utilities in west-central Florida, including City of North Port, Manatee County, Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority, Sarasota County, and Tampa Bay Water.

Approach

Samples were collected from raw and finished drinking water or raw and treated wastewater and analyzed for PPCPs. Samples were collected using the USGS sampling protocol for wastewater, pharmaceutical, and antibiotic compounds in water (U.S. Geological Survey, Chapter 5.6.1.F). The USGS determined the concentrations of 45 pharmaceutical compounds in water which constitute a subset of the most frequently detected pharmaceutical compounds from a larger national reconnaissance. The pharmaceutical compounds were analyzed at the USGS National Water Quality Laboratory in Denver, Colorado by solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and at the USGS Organic Geochemistry Laboratory in Lawrence, Kansas by solid-phase extraction with liquid chromatography/electro spray ionization mass spectrometry. An estrogen compound, 17 beta estradiol, was determined using an immunoassay method.

Results

PPCPs were not detected in raw and finished drinking water; limited compounds were detected at low concentrations in treated wastewater.

Information Product

Data were entered into the USGS national water information system database and tables summarizing analytical results were provided to each cooperating agency.