References & Sources

Medicinal waters: Where ibuprofen goes

Swiss chemists found that unlike some other water-polluting drugs, ibuprofen breaks down in waste-treatment plants.

References:

Buser, H.-R., T. Poiger, and M.D. Müller. 1999. Occurrence and environmental behavior of the chiral pharmaceutical drug ibuprofen in surface waters and in wastewater. Environmental Science & Technology 33(Aug. 1):2529.

______. 1998. Occurrence and fate of the pharmaceutical drug diclofenac in surface waters: Rapid photodegradation in a lake. Environmental Science & Technology 32(Nov. 15):3449.

Further Readings:

Buser, H., M.D. Müller, and N. Theobald. 1998. Occurrence of the pharmaceutical drug clofibric acid and the herbicide mecoprop in various Swiss lakes and in the North Sea. Environmental Science & Technology 32(Jan. 1):88.

Hallung-Serensen, B., et al. 1998. Occurrence, fate and effects of pharmaceutical substances in the environment—a review. Chemosphere 36(January):357.

Heberer, T. 1997. Determination of the clofibric acid and N-(phenylsulfonyl)-sarcosine in sewage, river and drinking water. Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry 3:1.

Heberer, T., et al. 1997. Detection of drugs and drug metabolites in ground water samples of a drinking water treatment plant. Fresenius Environmental Bulletin 6:438.

Raloff, J. 1998. Drugged waters. Science News 152(March 21):187.

Sources:

Hans-Rudolf Buser
Swiss Federal Research Station
CH-8820 Wädenswil
Switzerland

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 8, August 21, 1999, p. 126. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.