Environmental risk assessment of platinum cytotoxic drugs: a focus on toxicity characterization of hospital effluents

Platinum-based cytotoxic drugs are complexes of Pt used in 50-70% of cancer patients. This study was performed during 2015, in two oncology wards of Qom hospitals in Iran. Sampling was carried out using effluent of the oncology wards for measurement of total Pt concentration. Analysis was performed by ICP-OES, and limit of detection was determined (LODs = 1 mu g/L). During the sampling days, the total Pt concentration in the wastewater effluent oncology ward ranged from 5 to 762 mu g/L at Shahid Beheshti Hospital and from 3 to 629 mu g/L at Hazrat Masoumeh Hospital. According to the results from concentration of cytotoxic drugs, the predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) (ng/L) in wastewater treatment plant effluent and river for cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin were determined. Calculated RQ(hww) showed that Sigma RQ(hww) - 1.19. Thus, the total platinum compound drug could have potential toxicity effect on aquatic organisms. It was concluded that monitoring of cytotoxic drugs residue in hospital effluent must be considered because of their toxicity and impact on aquatic pollution. The results also revealed that PEC < 10 ng/L for all the platinum compound drugs and sum of the PEC calculation (Sigma PPECcis,carbo,oxali).