ABSTRACT
The presence of five antibiotics (metronidazole, ciprofloxacin, amoxicillin, doxycycline, and chloramphenicol) and four analgesics (diclofenac, ibuprofen, paracetamol, and caffeine) were investigated in water and soil samples from the Sunyani municipality, Ghana. Liquid samples were collected from hospital effluents, sachet drinking water, municipal waterworks, river Tano, and dumpsite leachates, while soil samples were collected from dumpsites and municipal waterworks. All samples were prepared using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and analyzed via an HPLC- PDA method. All antibiotics analyzed, apart from metronidazole, were detected either in soil or water samples. Doxycycline and ciprofloxacin were present in almost all liquid samples. The investigated hospital effluents had antibiotic concentrations of up to 2.93 mg/L for doxycycline and 4.74 mg/L for ciprofloxacin. The highest concentration of any antibiotic found was 8.76 mg/L of amoxicillin in hospital effluents. The maximum concentration of analgesics in liquid samples analyzed was 3.20 mg/L (paracetamol) and 3.00 mg/kg (caffeine) in soil samples. Ecological risk assessment indicated that the pharmaceuticals pose a possible risk to some aquatic organisms. The findings from this study showed the presence of these pharmaceuticals at concentrations that could impact the ecosystem. Consistent monitoring of environmental levels and pursuing the development and implementation of a suitable remediation program is needed.
ABSTRACT
The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the environment is a global challenge. Pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics and analgesics have been reported in various environmental matrices at varying concentrations. The major disposal route for unused and expired pharmaceuticals in Ghana is throwing them into dustbins. Although there are laws on the proper disposal patterns of drugs, these laws are poorly implemented. Sunyani is a fast-growing community with several health facilities that dispense medications daily. The purchase and use of medications among households are also high. However, no data exist on the disposal patterns of pharmaceuticals within the Sunyani Municipality. This study aims to identify the disposal patterns for unused and expired medications by households and pharmacies within the Sunyani Municipality, Ghana. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 persons in homes and 35 persons from randomly selected pharmacies and over-the-counter medication shops (OTCMs) within the Sunyani Municipality. A face-to-face interview approach using structured questionnaires for each respondent was employed. Household respondents disposed of unused and expired medications mainly through dumping in garbage cans (70.8%), incineration (11.5%), and flushing down the sink (9%). Pharmaceutical shop respondents also disposed of unused and expired medications into dump cans, by incineration, through the Food and Drugs Authority of Ghana, and took back to pharmaceutical wholesalers. Disposal practices observed in this study by households and pharmacy respondents were largely inappropriate. This could be due to the lack of education on the proper disposal patterns available to these respondents. It is recommended that guidelines on safe disposal be put in place, and a structured procedure for collecting unused and expired pharmaceuticals should be introduced.
