Keeping pharmaceuticals out of our drinking water Through new technologies and by raising awareness, EU researchers look to remove recalcitrant cytostatic drugs from hospital waste water. Climate Change and Environment © Felipe Caparrós/stock.adobe.com When it comes to modern medicine, pharmaceuticals have rewritten the rules. Take cytostatics, for example. Used to block the growth of cancer cells, these drugs can destroy tumours, boost the outcomes of surgery, reduce metastases and alleviate cancer symptoms. However, after doing their job, these cytostatic agents are excreted into the wastewater stream. If not properly removed, they could eventually end up in our groundwater, surface water, and even drinking water. “This is problematic because these substances are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and toxic for reproduction,” says Manuel Valiente, a professor of Analytical Chemistry at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Unfortunately, removing cytostatics from hospital wastewater is easier said than done. That’s because most sewage plant operators and other stakeholders aren’t even aware of the problem. Even if they are, many lack the technical capacity – or the budget – to completely remove recalcitrant cytostatic drugs. Enter the EU-funded RECOPHARMA project. “The project was born with the purpose of designing, developing, validating and demonstrating an effective treatment for removing and recovering cytostatic drugs from wastewater,” adds Valiente, who served as the project’s coordinator. Advanced water treatment technologies and solutions Building on previous EU-funded research, the project developed advanced water treatment solutions that are versatile, fast, efficient and low-cost. One such solution involves next-generation molecular imprinted polymers used as adsorption nanostructure-based materials. “This is essentially an adsorbent material that can concentrate and remove trace levels, which is the most important barrier, of specific cytostatics in polluted waters,” explains Valiente. When installed at a wastewater treatment plant, the material acts as a filter, continuously removing detected cytostatic drugs. Tested at a pilot facility, the solution has been shown to remove more than 90 % of specific cytostatics at trace levels. Raising awareness about pharmaceutical pollutants Of course, treatment technologies are only half the equation. The other half involves raising awareness about the issue. “Through education and knowledge sharing, RECOPHARMA was driven to increase awareness about the removal and recycling of pharmaceutical pollutants in contaminated waters across hospitals, research centres and water treatment plants,” remarks Valiente. During the project, 32 researchers and technicians received in-depth training on analytical techniques and separation processes. They were also able to get hands-on experience with various cytostatic drug removal solutions at the project’s pilot plant. In addition to raising awareness amongst researchers and pharmaceutical professionals, the project disseminated their work with government decision makers and the public. To do so, the team regularly visited national embassies, held open science cafes and participated in conferences and events. Pilot plant established to strip cytostatics from wastewater Thanks to these results, the RECOPHARMA project, which received support from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, has laid the foundation on which future research initiatives can build. “We were very clear that the biggest impact a project like this can have is to lay the groundwork that future initiatives can build from,” notes Valiente. The project’s pilot plant has already been installed at a partner institution in Cuba, where it is being used to remove recalcitrant cytostatic drugs and other pollutants from the wastewater system. “I am confident that the global network of knowledge we created during this project will continue to advance our research, developing commercial applications that will eventually eradicate the threat that recalcitrant cytostatic drugs pose,” concludes Valiente. Keywords RECOPHARMA, pharmaceuticals, wastewater, medicine, hospital wastewater, wastewater system, recalcitrant cytostatic drugs, water treatment, pharmaceutical pollutants
