PARENT SESSION

PH06 Agrochemicals, Pesticides, Pharmaceuticals
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Thursday

(PH041) Degradation of [¹⁴C]propranolol hydrochloride in a lab-scale sewage treatment simulation.

Roberts, G¹, Coombe, V¹, Daniel, M¹, Gray, N², Hetheridge, M¹, Murray-Smith, R¹, Riddle, A¹, Snape, J¹, ¹ AstraZeneca Limited, Global Safety, Health and Environment, Brixham, Devon, UK² AstraZeneca Canada Inc., Global Safety, Health and Environment, Missisauga, Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT- Pharmaceuticals used in human medicine are mainly released into the environment via the sewage system. Various human pharmaceuticals have been detected at concentrations in the low g l^-1 range in sewage treatment plant (STP) effluents. For most active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), very little fate data has been published at these low concentrations. Our experiments aim to improve our knowledge by studying the fate of a -blocker, propranolol hydrochloride, in a laboratory-scale STP simulation using [¹⁴C]propranolol. Standard regulatory batch screening tests, described by OECD, require the test substance to be present at 10-100 mg l^-1. These batch screening tests suggest propranolol is partially degraded. However, preliminary studies using non-labelled propranolol in a laboratory-scale STP simulation at 100 g l^-1 suggests extensive removal. The current work using, [¹⁴C]propranolol, aims to elucidate the mechanisms behind these observations and understand the relationship between the batch screening data and simulation test data.

Key words: Biodegradation, Human Pharmaceuticals, -blocker, Fate