Environmental risk assessment of commonly used anti-cancer drugs
Abstract
This study has been focused on the commonly used anti-cancer drugs (ACDs) in Turkey in terms of environmental toxicity, behaviors in sewage treatment plants (STPs), biodegradability and physicochemical properties. For this purpose, EPI Suite, estimation programme, has been used by employing BCFWIN, KOWWIN, KOCWIN, HENRYWIN, AEROWIN, ECOSAR, BIOWIN, STPWIN suites. Among 13 selected ACDs, Tamoxifen has been found as the most risky pharmaceutical due to its high Predicted Environmental Concentration (PEC) / Predicted No Effect Concentration (PNEC) value (2.96350). Even if the total removal efficiency of Tamoxifen is rather high (97.24%), the considerable portion (71.50%) has been retained on the treatment sludge leading to compose hazardous waste. Additionally, physicochemical parameters, log Kow (6.30), Kd (62230 L/g), log Koc (4.400) and BCF (6689 L/kg), calculated for Tamoxifen indicate that Tamoxifen has the highest sorption potential and tends to bioaccumulate in organisms, respectively.
Keywords
Anti-cancer drugs, Environmental risks Pharmaceuticals; Predicted environmental concentration, Predicted no effect concentration.
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