Status report on pharmaceuticals in the Baltic Sea

Dmitry Frank-KamenetskyHELCOM

Pharmaceuticals in the environment – the global perspective Occurrence, effects, and potential cooperative action under SAICM

www.pharmaceuticals-in-the-environment.org

3

Number of countries worldwide in which pharmaceuticals have been found in the aquatic environment

Pharmaceutical Therapy Group Number of countries

Diclofenac Analgesics 50

Carbamazepine Antiepileptic drugs 48

Ibuprofen Analgesics 47

Sulfamethoxazole Antibiotics 47

Naproxen Analgesics 45

Estrone Estrogens 35

17-β-Estradiol Estrogens 34

17-α-Ethinylestradiol Estrogens 31

Trimethoprim Antibiotics 29

Paracetamol Analgesics 29

Clofibric acid Lipid-lowering drugs 23

Ciprofloxacin Antibiotics 20

Ofloxacin Antibiotics 16

Estriol Estrogens 15

Norfloxacin Antibiotics 15

Acetylsalicylic acid Analgesics 15

Pharmaceuticals in the environment – the global perspective Occurrence, effects, and potential cooperative action under SAICM

Pharmaceutical Diclofenac 17α-Ethinylestradiol Ivermectin Sulfonamide

Therapeutic

group

Analgesics Synthetic estrogen Veterinary

parasiticide

Antibiotic

Non-target

organism

Vulture

(Gyps

bengalensis)

Fathead minnow

(Pimephales promelas)

Dung fly and beetle Maize (Zea mays)

Willow (Salix fragilis)

Effects Population collapse due to renal failure

Population collapse due to

feminization of male fish

Mortality of eggs and larvae

Adverse effects on root growth. Death of maize at high conc.

Study type Wildlife Whole-lake experiment Laboratory and field Greenhouse

Reference Oakes et al. 2004 Kidd et al. 2007 Liebig et al. 2010 Michelini et al. 2012

Some selected examples of adverse effects of pharmaceuticals on non-target

organisms in field and environmental observations

Data analysis

6

0 %

10 %

20 %

30 %

40 %

50 %

60 %

70 %

80 %

90 %

100 %

% o

fM

EC d

atab

ase

en

trie

s unknown

Pharma Production

Urban

Manure/Sludge

Application - Irrigation

Application - Industry

Hospital Wastewater

Aquaculture

Animal Farm

Urban areas are a major contributor.

Discharge from manufacturing, animal husbandry, and

aquaculture are important regionally.

What is the source of the pharmaceuticals

found in the environment?

Research Project on „Global relevance of pharmaceuticals in the environment“ (UBA)

First Screening of Baltic Sea Data shows:

300 Data entries (published until 2013)

Measured environmental concentrations (MEC) from

different countries (Sweden, Norway, Germany)

Veterinary and human pharmaceuticals detected

Different compartments (surface water, sediment,…)

38 pharmaceutical substances + metabolites listed

Variety of therapeutic indications covered

(antidepressants, antibiotics, hormones, analgesics, ß-

blockers, lipid lowering agents, …)

7

Central WWTPof St. Petersburg Diclofenac

Concentration of Diclofenac in the effluent varied from 355 ng/L to 550 ng/L.

Taking into account daily sewage water release in St.Petersburg total input of pain killer from the city can be estimated as about 400 kg per year.

The studies screening diclophenac concentration in influent and effluent water of the WWTP were carried out in Finland, Sweden and Germany.

The highest published concentration in influent water is 7000 ng/L and in effluent 3900 ng/l.

The proposed GES-boundary for surface water is 10 ng L-1

Diclofenac concentration – HELCOM pre core indicator.

A second holistic assessment of the Ecosystem Health of the Baltic Sea (HOLLAS II) is based on the set pf core indicators

Screening studies of diclofenac concentrations in the rivers Vantaa, Aura, Kokemä-enjoki, Kuro shown triple exceedance of the GES-boundary even at distance about 2 kilometres from WWTP’s discharges.

HELCOM core indicator

to collect information on pharmaceuticals and assess the status of contamination of pharmaceuticals and their degradation products in the marine environment;

HELCOM Copenhagen Ministerial Declaration 3 October 2013, Copenhagen, Denmark

further assess the environmentally negative impacts of pharmaceuticals and other substances that are not monitored regularly;

HELCOM Ministerial Declaration 20 May 2010, Moscow

EU directive 2013/39/EU amending Water Framework Directive

The contamination of water and soil with pharmaceutical residues is an emerging environmental concern.

Article 8c Specific provisions for pharmaceutical substances

to reducing discharges, emissions and losses of such substances into the aquatic environment, taking into account public health needs and the cost-effectiveness of the measures proposed.

Article 8b Watch list

Diclofenac (CAS 15307-79-6), 17-beta-estradiol (E2) (CAS 50-28-2) and 17-alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) (CAS 57-63-6) shall be included in the first watch list

Policy Area Hazards of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR)

Two concrete activities are planned for 2015-2016: 1. Produce a status report on concentrations of pharmaceuticals in the Baltic Sea

environment, based on available data, 2. Organize a stakeholder conference to stimulate network building in the Baltic region

and the development of good quality project applications to the Interreg programme.

decided to give the topic of pharmaceuticals in the Baltic environment increased attention in the years 2015-2017.

The decision was based on:• the generally growing concern over potential environmental impacts of

pharmaceutical substances,• the current policy movements within HELCOM, the EU and internationally, • the interest in more knowledge and coordinated action by several Baltic Sea countries.

Assessment of the state of contamination of the Baltic Sea environment by pharmaceutical substances including:

• Measured concentrations of pharmaceuticals in Baltic coastal and offshore areas, primarily in biota, water and sediment. The concentrations should be compared to effect limits when available.

• Environmental effects of pharmaceuticals in the Baltic Sea conditions (or measured/observed effects of pharmaceuticals on Baltic biota)

The scope of the assessment:

Assessment of the pressure on the Baltic Sea environment including:

• Consumption/use of pharmaceuticals in the countries: human, agriculture, aquaculture, veterinary.

• Information on production of pharmaceuticals in the HELCOM area – to map potential hot spots for releases of pharmaceuticals.

• Pathways - point source of input of pharmaceuticals e.g. sewage treatment plant outlets, riverine loads [likely only available through screening studies]; concentration of pharmaceuticals in sewage sludge; concentration of pharmaceuticals in manure/sludge and sewage water from animal farming

The scope of the assessment:

1st step - scope availability and source of data (no data collection).

- National sources of data on consumption/use of pharmaceuticals e.g.

(specify per different of activity; e.g. human use, agriculture, veterinary)

o authorities (environmental, health care s, veterinary, agricultural etc.)

o professional associations

o projects/studies

- National sources of data on pathways of pharmaceuticals into the

environment such as concentration of the compounds in waste water,

sludge, manure etc.

o authorities

o professional associations

o projects/studies

- What is the accessibility to existing data e.g.:

o open access - data base

o reports

o restricted

- Contact persons [likely a number of contact person in different

authorities/institutions]

Sources of relevant data with restricted access (e.g. commercial data, data which require anonymising etc.) should be identified.

a. available data on pharmaceutical concentrations in the Baltic

environment, coastal and open water (water, biota, sediment)

b. available data on effects on Baltic biota

c. available data on sources including information on production and

consumption of pharmaceuticals and pathways – concentration of these

substances in waste water, sludge, manure etc.

The metadata, such as coordinates for concentration data, analytical methods,

detection limits, data quality, etc., appropriate for the different categories will be

collected.

2nd step – a template for data collection will be prepared based on the

results from the 1st step.

The data will be collected in several categories:

Date Activity

May 2015 Information about process at Pressure and State&Conservation meetings; ask for

information about data availability and data sources from CPs

Information about process to PA Hazards steering group

June 2015 Collect information about data availability and data sources from CPs

Develop and send out template for collecting data on concentrations and effects

July 2015 Assess availability of data for sources, consumption, use and production

Develop and send out template for collecting data on Pressures - sources and

pathways

August 2015 Collect data on concentrations and effects

Start compilation of data on concentrations and effects

September 2015 Collect data on Pressures - sources and pathways

October 2015 Report on concentrations and effects ready

Discussion on progress in data compilation at Pressure Group meeting

November 2015 Presentation of the report on concentrations and effects at State&Conservation

meeting

Workshop/Stakeholder conference (PA Hazard - HELCOM) back-to-back with

State&Conservation meeting

December 2015 –

Fabruary 2016

Compilation of Final report

Provisional timetable