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BIOL 381 > 17 - Pharmaceuticals as pollutants > Flashcards

17 - Pharmaceuticals as pollutants Flashcards

1
Q

Commonly used method of detecting pharmaceutical pollution

A

Difficult, but usually use a combination of:
- liquid chromatography
- mass spectroscopy
- mass spectroscopy

LC/MS/MS

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2
Q

Four commonly detected pharmaceuticals

A
  • Estradiol
  • SSRIs (antidepressants/ antianxiety)
  • Antibiotics
  • Atenolol (beta blocker)
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3
Q

Slides 8,9

A

Effluent analysis from municipalities

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4
Q

What are endocrine disruptors

A

Toxicants that interfere with the endocrine system, usually either synthetic hormones, or hormone-mimics

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5
Q

Endocrine disruptors exert their effects in three ways:

A
  1. Mimicking or antagonizing the effects of hormones
  2. Altering the synthesis and the metabolism of hormones
  3. Modifying hormone receptor levels
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6
Q

Common endocrine mimics

A
  • PCBs
  • DDT
  • Bisphenol- A and S
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7
Q

What glands/organs are part of the endocrine system

A

Pineal, pituitary, thyroid glands
Thymus
Kidney, pancreas
Ovary, testis

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8
Q

Slide 13

A

How a hormone mimic acts

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9
Q

How do endocrine disruptors pose threats to humans?

A

May not pose direct acute or chronic threats, but they indirectly interact with the endocrine systems that control the body’s function resulting in excessive amounts or suppression of hormones

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10
Q

Name some symptoms of endocrine disruption

A
  • infertility
  • sexual underdevelopment
  • attention deficit or hyperactivity
  • birth defects
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11
Q

How can antibiotics be removed from water? What is the problem with this?

A

Usually effectively removed by chlorination

Problem: all treated water isn’t chlorinated. Chloramine is replacing chlorine use bc fewer byproducts, but is less effective at degrading antibiotics

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12
Q

Most antibiotics are used where? Problem?

A

80% of antibiotics sold in USA are used on farm animals

Problem: farm waste isn’t treated like human waste

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13
Q

Slides 16-18

A

look

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14
Q

Affect of SSRIs (antidepressants) on wildlife

A
  • Reduced predator-avoidance behaviour in fathead minnows
  • minnows also swam faster

Slides 21, 22

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15
Q

What is synthetic estrogen and what is it used in?

A

Ethinyl estradiol found in birth control pills

Component of nearly every hormonal contraceptive in NA

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16
Q

Where is ethinyl estradiol being found?

A

Downstream from wastewater treatment discharges

More persistent than other forms of estrogen

17
Q

What is ethinyl estradiol doing to aquatic organisms?

A
  • Acutely toxic to aquatic orgs at a the scale of mg/L
  • Can induce vitellogenin (egg yolk protein) production in male fish at the scale of ng/L
18
Q

Slides 25-36

A

Estradiol affect on aquatic orgs

19
Q

How many illnesses and deaths are caused by antibiotic resistwance

A

over 2 million illnesses

23,000 deaths

20
Q

Slide 38

A

Antibiotic resistance

21
Q

Impacts of pharmaceutical pollution on humans

A
  • harmful effects to humans is not observed
  • EXCEPT from antibiotics: concerns for antibiotic resistance is high
  • but may be impacted in the future, don’t ignore the problem!
22
Q

What wastewater treatment steps help remove pharmaceuticals?

A
  • Secondary treatment can remove 20-90% of pharmaceutical from waste
  • Additional ‘quaternary’ treatment can remove up to 99% of pharmaceuticals
23
Q

Methods of quaternary treatment for pharmaceutical removal

A
  • Ozonation
  • Advanced oxidation
  • Activated carbon
  • Reverse osmosis
  • Nanofiltration
24
Q

Slides 42-47**

A

Know it
Quaternary treatment

25
Q

Problem with quaternary treatment

A

Cost:
- most municipalities in Canada can barely afford tertiary treatment
- may not remove it all

26
Q

Ways to reduce pharmaceutical usage

A
  • Deprescribing
  • Reduce non-therapeutic usage in farm animals
  • Dispose excess drugs properly
  • Public awareness
27
Q

What is deprescribing? How?

A

Reducing or stopping medications that may not be beneficial or may be causing harm
- make over-the-counter drugs one of many options
- start slow, and work up
- talk to doctor
- consider non-hormonal birth control

28
Q

What is Atrazine? What affect did it have on male African clawed frogs?

A

Herbicide

Males become demasculinized (chemically castrated) and completely feminized. Could make viable offspring with other male
Decreased number of males, changing male-female ratio in pop

BIOL 381 (18 decks)

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