Management of pharmaceutical micropollutants discharged in urban waters: 30 years of systematic review looking at opportunities for developing countries.

Pharmaceutical micropollutants' contamination of urban waters has been studied globally for decades, but the concentration of innovations in management initiatives is still in developed economies. The gap between the locus of innovations in pharmaceuticals and the relative stagnation in less developed economies to manage waste originating in this activity seems fruitful for investigations on innovation in integrated micropollutant management strategies. These tensions allow for advances in current knowledge for environmental management and, particularly, finding solutions for the contamination by pharmaceutical micropollutants of urban water bodies in developing countries. We aim to list the main strategies for managing pharmaceutical micropollutants discussed to point out opportunities for developing countries to advance in this direction. Methodologically, we conducted a systematic literature review from 1990 to 2020, covering 3027 documents on "pharmaceutical micropollutants management." The framework formed by the macro-approach to integrated management operationalized by the dimensional micro-approaches: technical, organizational, community, and governmental allowed us to understand that (1) the management of pharmaceutical micropollutants tends to occur through a technical approach centered on the removal of aquatic matrices, green chemistry, and urine diversion; (2) management with an organizational approach has enabled removing drugs from water bodies by drug take-back program, collaborative projects, drug use reduction, and better organizational practices; (3) the community approach have helped minimize this type of pollution by reducing the consumption of medicines and the proper destination for medicines that are no longer in use. Finally, the government management approach emerges as a source of legal, economic, and informational instruments to reduce pollution by pharmaceutical micropollutants. Furthermore, these management approaches allowed us to identify 15 opportunities for possible adjustments for developing societies. These opportunities can be promising for practices and research and, in the medium term, contribute to minimizing pollution by pharmaceutical micropollutants in urban waters.

Biomonitoring as a Nature-Based Solution to Assess Atmospheric Pollution and Impacts on Public Health.

The control of air pollution remains a challenge to the planning of cities and fossil fuel burning is the main cause of air degradation. Particulate matter (PM) is the contaminant commonly used as an indicator of pollution, but environmental agencies may face difficulties in operating surveillance networks due to the lack of resources and infrastructure. As an alternative to conventional networks, scientific studies have pointed out that nature itself can contribute to the diagnosis and reduction of air pollution. Nature-based solutions (NbS) are proposals that use natural processes and structures to meet different environmental challenges. In this study, biomonitoring with Tillandsia usneoides was applied as a NbS tool to evaluate air quality in an important port urban area in the city of Guarujá, Brazil, affected by industrial and vehicular emissions. It was observed that cadmium mass fractions were at least forty times higher than the control area with one-month exposition.

Avaliação da qualidade das águas do Rio Belém, Curitiba-PR, com o emprego de indicadores quantitativos e perceptivos / Evaluation of Belem River water quality, Curitiba, PR, with the use of quantitative and perceptive indicators

O objetivo principal deste trabalho foi avaliar o estado geral da qualidade das águas do rio Belém a partir de duas abordagens complementares: o uso do Índice de Qualidade das Águas da National Sanitation Foundation e de protocolos perceptivos (Indicador de Intensidade Antrópica e Indicador de Valor de Habitat). Para o monitoramento, foram selecionados 10 pontos no seu canal principal além da foz dos 13 tributários principais. Os resultados do IQA nsf mostraram perda progressiva da qualidade das águas da nascente para a foz em razão do aporte de esgotos domésticos oriundos das regiões mais densamente habitadas próximas ao centro da cidade. A aplicação dos protocolos perceptivos mostrou maior variabilidade dos resultados, mas com tendência esperada em relação ao IQAnsf, indicando seu uso potencial como instrumento de avaliação complementar.

The main purpose of this work was to evaluate the water quality of Belem River with two complementary strategies: the use of the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index and the application of perceptive protocols (Human Intensity Index and Habitat Value Index). To access the water quality, 10 points at the main river channel as well as the estuary of its 13 main tributaries were selected. The WQInsf results showed a gradual loss of the water quality from the headwater to its mouth mainly due the presence of domestic effluents from the more densely populated areas located near the center of the city. The application of perceptive protocols showed more variable but predictable results indicating its potential as complementary methods of evaluation.

Influência da densidade populacional nas relações entre matéria orgânica carbonácea, nitrogênio e fósforo em rios urbanos situados em áreas com baixa cobertura sanitária / Influence of the urban density in the relationship among carbonic organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorous in small rivers with low sanitation coverage

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é a análise da variação da relação entre a matéria orgânica carbonácea (representada pelas Demandas Biológica e Bioquímica de Oxigênio), Nitrogênio Total Kjeldhal e Fósforo Total nas águas de pequenos rios urbanos cujas áreas de drenagem apresentem baixa cobertura sanitária. Para isso, foram selecionadas 4 bacias hidrográficas urbanas com ocupação residencial, densidade populacional entre 0 e 100 hab/ha e similaridade de condições naturais e de ocupação humana. Os resultados mostraram alterações importantes nas relações entre os conteúdos de matéria orgânica carbonácea, Nitrogênio e Fósforo indicando que, a partir de uma condição natural não urbanizada, mesmo pequenas densidades populacionais são capazes de alterar significativamente a qualidade das águas.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship among the carbonic organic matter (measured as Chemical and Biological Oxygen Demand), Total Kjeldhal Nitrogen and Total Phosphorous in small urban rivers with low sanitation coverage in its hydrographic basins. Four basins with similar natural condition and residential occupation but variable urban densities between 0 and 100 inhabitants per hectare were selected. The results show important changes in the carbonic organic matter, Nitrogen and Phosphorous relationships indicating that, compared with a natural condition, even low urban densities can significantly change de water quality.