PROGRAMME

Treated wastewater (TWW) reuse for irrigation is recognized as one of the indispensable practices for the mitigation of water scarcity. However, the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in TWW act as a limiting factor in effectively applying the reuse practices. The possible uptake and bioaccumulation of CECs in the edible parts of food crops and fodders during TWW irrigation, and their subsequent entry into the food chain have attracted great scientific attention over the last years. This study aimed at assessing such challenges mediated from TWW irrigation of lettuce plants grown in lysimeters under real-field conditions, and irrigated with treated effluent from conventional activated sludge and membrane bioreactor treatment facilities. Different matrices such as control tap water, TWW, leachate, soil and lettuce were collected and analysed for 115 pharmaceutical compounds using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. In total, 23 compounds were detected in all the examined samples belonging mostly to macrolides, sulfonamides and quinolones antibiotics. Four compounds namely clarithromycin, sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin and tramadol were found in the investigated water-soil-plant samples. Furthermore, tramadol was also detected in leachate samples. Information on the quantified findings will be presented during the oral presentation.