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(M/EH056) Occurrence of antibiotics in groundwaters in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany - Results of a comprehensive monitoring program. Sacher, Frank1, Brauch, Heinz-Juergen1, Lange, Frank Thomas1, Metzinger, Melanie1, Wenz, Michael1, Blankenhorn, Iris2, 1 2 ABSTRACT- Due to an incomplete elimination in waste water treatment plants, residues of pharmaceutical products have been found in waste and surface waters. Initiated and financially supported by the Federal Ministry for Environment and Transport in Baden-Wuerttemberg a research project was started aiming at the systematic investigation of the occurrence of drugs and endocrine disrupting chemicals in the ground and surface waters of Baden-Wuerttemberg. An extensive monitoring program was set up whereby special attention was paid to the occurrence of antibiotics in groundwaters. Thus, samples from more than 100 groundwater sampling spots in Baden-Wuerttemberg were analysed on the occurrence of 25 antibiotics, most of them belonging to the classes of penicillines, macrolides, and sulfonamides. The results showed that penicillines were never found in the samples under investigation which is probably due to the limited stability and fast hydrolyses of these compounds. However, less is known about the fate of possible degradation by-products. On the other side, compounds like the sulfonamides sulfamethoxazole and sulfadiazine or the macrolides roxithromycin and dehydrato-erythromycin, the metabolite of erythromycin, were found in up to 10 % of the samples under investigation. Concentrations were most often in the 10 to 100 ng/l range. A detailed assessment of the data yielded that the findings could be predominantly attributed to the direct or indirect impact of sewage and not to the use of antibiotics as veterinary drugs. Key words: antibiotics, sulfonaomds, macrolides, groundwater |
