Environmental contamination by fluoroquinolones

Abstract

Over the past few decades, a high number of pharmaceuticals have been detected in surface, ground and drinking waters. This contamination comes from domestic sewage, livestock, hospitals and chemical-pharmaceutical industries. Typical examples of these pollutants are the fuoroquinolones - powerful antibiotics used in human and veterinary medicine. The presence of fuoroquinolones in the environment can pose a serious threat to the ecosystem and to human health due to their high consumption globally: in 1998, around 120 tons were produced. Even at low environmental concentrations, antibiotics stimulate bacterial resistance. The consequences of the presence of fuoroquinolones in the environment are not fully understood, but are known to be toxic to plants and aquatic organisms. Approximately 85% of the fuoroquinolones present in influents can be removed by conventional wastewater treatment plants, but the removed fraction is frequently accumulated in the sludge, which is sometimes used as fertilizer, representing an additional input route into the environment. The removal of fuoroquinolones by biological treatment is ineffective, and it is believed that only advanced oxidation technologies are able to destroy these emerging pollutants.