Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
4485388 Water Research 2009 7 Pages PDF
Abstract

A Mackay-type level II fugacity model has been used to predict the behaviour and final concentrations of cocaine (COC) and its main metabolite benzoylecgonine (BE) in a regional environmental system defined according to the European guidelines on Risk Assessment. The model takes into account the initial COC intake, partial degradation of the parent compound to BE, treatment of wastewater and environmental fate of these substances. Predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) lie in the ng L−1 level, with the exception of the air compartment, where the concentrations are negligible. PECs in the water phase are in accordance with measured experimental concentrations in different European rivers. This case study shows that a simple level II fugacity model is suitable enough for modelling the environmental fate of high water soluble and low volatile organic compounds such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes
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