Results from the Swedish National Screening programme 2005. Sub report 1 Antibiotics, Anti-inflammatory substances and Hormones

Measurements of pharmaceuticals were performed in 179 samples of water, sludge, manure, sediment and biota at background sites, municipal STPs, landfills, hospital effluents and recipient water from STPs. Bioassays of hormone activity were performed for a selected number of water samples. The NSAIDs were the most frequently detected pharmaceuticals and occurred in the highest concentrations. There were large differences in concentrations both between substances and between sampling sites. A regional trend in the STP effluent water could be observed for the NSAIDs and for some antibiotics with increased concentrations in samples originating from the north. No pattern could be seen for the hormones. Estrogenic effects were detected in STP outlets to the aquatic environment while values obtained for androgenicity were in most samples close to or below the detection limit. Based on the risk asessment (MEC/PNEC) risk quotients >1 was obtained for estradiol, estriol, ethinylestradiol and ibuprofen.