Antibiotic, Heavy Metal, and Biocide Concentrations in a Wastewater Treatment Plant and Its Receiving Water Body Exceed PNEC Limits: Potential for Antimicrobial Resistance Selective Pressure.

ABSTRACT: Although the rise in antimicrobial resistance has been attributed mainly to the extensive and indiscriminate use of antimicrobials such as antibiotics and biocides in humans, animals and on plants, studies investigating the impact of this use on water environments in Africa are minimal. This study quantified selected antibiotics, heavy metals, and biocides in an urban wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and its receiving water body in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, in the context of the predicted no-effect concentrations (PNEC) for the selection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Water samples were collected from the WWTP effluent discharge point and upstream and downstream from this point. Heavy metals were identified and quantified using the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US

SUBMITTER: Chukwu KB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10376008 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature