Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2009TX319B

Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) at an effluent-dominated wastewater application site: Estrogens, Triclosan, and Caffeine

Institute: Texas
Year Established: 2009 Start Date: 2009-03-01 End Date: 2010-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $4,967 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,025

Principal Investigators: Adcharee Karnjanapiboonwong, Todd Anderson

Project Summary: Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have recently been identified in the environment and are considered potent endocrine disruptors, drivers for the development of antibiotic resistance, and considered as persistent chemicals. These contaminants can reach the soil and aquatic environment through land application of wastewater and agricultural runoff. Several studies have determined that these compounds are not completely removed during the wastewater treatment process, and can be detected in stream surveys in the United States. The overall goal of this research is to study the fate of pharmaceuticals at field scale. The unique study site is a wastewater land application site used for nutrient removal and non-edible crop production. The Lubbock Land Application Site (LLAS) has received wastewater effluent for over 70 years, and is an ideal site to determine the long-term fate of PPCPs in the environment above drinking water sources. Factors affecting the fate of target PPCPs will be investigated.