Occurrence of acidic pharmaceuticals in the Warta River in Poland

The occurrence of five acidic pharmaceuticals (ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen, diclofenac,
bezafibrate and clofibric acid) in the Warta River in Poland has been discussed. A significant
effect of the effluents of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) on the quality of
recipient water has been shown. Diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen, and ketoprofen were
found in all samples collected along the Warta River at average concentrations of several
ng L�1.Average concentration of the above pharmaceuticals in raw sewage entering wastewater
plants was at the level of a few µg L�1. The efficiency of pharmaceuticals� removal
from the raw sewage was very high and reached 97�100%. Diclofenac was the only compound,
which exhibited a significant resistance towards the treatment (< 65%), and accordingly
its concentration in the recipient water was the highest. Solid phase extraction (SPE)
was use for separation of pharmaceuticals from the water phase and HPLC�ESI�MS/MS
system was applied for the analysis.