Occurrence and fate of macrolide antibiotics in wastewater treatment plants and in the Glatt Valley watershed, Switzerland

An analytical method was developed for determining macrolide antibiotics in treated wastewater effluents and in ambient water based on solid-phase extraction and LC/MS analysis as well as on LC/MS/MS for structural confirmation. In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) macrolides are only partly eliminated and can therefore reach the aquatic environment. In treated effluents from three WWTPs in Switzerland, clarithromycin, roxithromycin, and erythromycin-H2O, the main degradation product of erythromycin, were found. The most abundant, clarithromycin, reflects the consumption pattern of macrolide antibiotics. Summer concentrations of clarithromycin varied between 57 and 330 ng/L in treated WWTP effluents. In the WWTP Kloten-Opfikon seasonal differences revealed a load two times higher in winter than in summer. The higher abundance of erythromycin-H2O in the effluent of WWTP Kloten-Opfikon can be explained by distinct consumption patterns due to the main international airport of Switzerland in the catchment area. In the Glatt River clarithromycin reached concentrations of up to 75 ng/L. Mass flux determinations in treated effluents and in river water in the Glatt Valley watershed showed that elimination of clarithromycin along the river stretch of 36 km is insignificant (<20%). Investigations in the Glatt River before and after the diversion of the largest WWTP revealed an observable decrease in clarithromycin loads.