Occurrences of pharmaceutical and personal care products as micropollutants in rivers from Romania

The occurrence of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) was investigated in the Somes River. The aim of this study was to obtain a first overview about the contamination of Somes River (Transylvania) with PPCPs. The samples were preconcentrated by Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) procedures and analysed by GC/MS. A number of 15 compounds including pharmaceutics, metabolites, intermediates and musk fragrances were detected in concentration ranging from 30 ng/1 to 10 mu g/1. The detected pharmaceuticals are included in following therapeutic groups: analgesics, antiepileptics, psychiatric, stimulants, anticoagulants, antineoplastic and disinfectants. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.