Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in aqueous urban environment of western India

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are receiving global scientific attention due to their occurrence, persistence and risk to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of 19 PPCPs in 6 lakes and River Nag in the city of Nagpur, India. Grab samples were collected and screened by LC-MS/MS. A total of 13 compounds were detected. In the multiple-site monitoring study, metformin (19-94 mu g/L) and triclosan [upto 74.3 mu g/L] were identified as the major PPCPs. In the single-site study (performed for 2 days at 2-hour interval), a spike was observed in the evening of Day 1, for example, atenolol (0.39-35.9 mu g/L), metoprolol (ND-26.4 mu g/L), acetaminophen (1.64-14.2), naproxen (0.5-15.9 mu g/L), etc. The maximum number of compounds were detected in Lake Futala (13), followed by Gandhisagar (7), Khindsi (6), Ambazari (4), Koradi (4) and Gorewada (1). Triclosan and methylparaben were the major compounds in lake samples.

Automated summary

This study investigated the occurrence of 19 PPCPs in lakes and River Nag in Nagpur, India, finding metformin and triclosan to be the major pollutants, with the highest number of compounds detected in Lake Futala.