FUNDING (WFOŚiGW in Łódź GRANT): PLN 458,460.00
TOTAL PROJECT VALUE: PLN 575,900.00
Project implementation period: 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2028
The Project Description
Rapid civilisational development, stress and the associated health problems have led to an increasing overuse of a wide range of pharmaceuticals. Consumption of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, hormones and medications used to regulate blood pressure and cholesterol levels continues to rise, particularly among people living in large urban areas. Densely populated urban agglomerations with outdated and inefficient combined sewer systems may pose a significant threat to organisms inhabiting rivers flowing through urbanised areas. Pharmaceuticals discharged into rivers may also contaminate groundwater resources and, consequently, drinking water intakes.
Research into the occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, collectively referred to as Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs), in aquatic environments began relatively recently. Little is still known about their concentrations, frequency and seasonality of occurrence, as well as their biodegradability in both water and bottom sediments. Biologically active substances excreted by humans, either in their original form or partially metabolised by the body, are highly likely to bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms, similarly to other types of pollutants.
The project involves research at four selected river sections flowing through the centre of a large city and exposed to untreated domestic wastewater originating from the municipal sewerage system. In addition, the wastewater stream entering the municipal wastewater treatment plant directly will be examined, together with the final effluent released into the Ner River after treatment. Using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, researchers will analyse the presence of selected pharmaceuticals, including diclofenac, ibuprofen, 17β-oestradiol, progesterone, erythromycin, tetracycline, and caffeine, in water, bottom sediments, and the tissues of aquatic invertebrates. Samples will be collected throughout all seasons of the year, with meteorological conditions and basic physicochemical water parameters also taken into account. The study will make it possible to assess the scale of contamination of urban rivers by these substances, determine their potential accumulation in aquatic environments, and refine methodologies for the detection of pharmaceuticals for future environmental monitoring purposes. European Union directives envisage the introduction of monitoring requirements for this category of xenobiotics in the near future. The expected final outcome of the project will be a set of guidelines that may serve as the basis for the future development of a Polish Standard for assessing pharmaceutical contamination in aquatic environments.
Website of the WFOŚiGW in Łódź
Text: dr hab. Mariusz Tszydel, Associate Professor at the University of Lodz (Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection)
Edit and graphic design: Mateusz Kowalski (Promotion Centre, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection)
