The Rückstände of drugs in the sewage to take. New technologies are to remedy the situation and the environment schüsupport
Kläof a plant in Aachen-Soers: The water enthält also pain relievers and blood pressure-lowering
When the people in Aachen-Soers to swallow their medication, weiß Ira Brückner pretty accurate. For instance, the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, the against urinary tract infections or Lungenentzüinventions to help. In the morning and in the evening, the concentration of the active substance in the wastewater erhö is;ht.
We excrete many of the drugs unveräfrom changed again
"In the Kläof a plant, the cycles of medicinal products are very carefully verfolgen", the environmental engineer from the water Board Eifel-Rur (.) is reported. Many of the medicines we swallow, if the Köbody unveräfrom changed again. You can take the sewage in the KläRS.
Some of these substances can be Brückner, meanwhile, the mechanical-biological cleaning filter, and reduce, for example, Ibuprofen. On hämost common were to be found in the ingredients of painkillers and antibiotics in wastewater.
Blood pressure lowering drugs in the toilet
But also the Rückstäthe beaches are another group of drugs are always in the größhe’ll amounts determined: blood pressure-lowering drug. In 2014 alone, 400 tons of such Prä were in Germany;parate prescribed. Almost the same amount of drugs floating in the wastewater, such as environmental experts at a meeting of the German society für cardiology reported at the end of 2017 in Berlin. Their concern is that these values will continue to rise köcould be, seems justified. People are increasingly älter, the number of patients, the lower your blood pressure with medicines müshot, düis believed to grow still.
What are the effects of the Rückständ have on the environment, is poorly understood. "It’s hard to say exactly what effect the drugs have, if you from the Köbody excreted werden", Dr. Frank Brauer from the German Federal environment Agency says. In the case of medicinal products in wastewater professionals talk like he is from micro-contamination. Often the concentrations are so low that they are difficult to measure. Only after the technologies, which is also a strong verdü arise;could concentrations to demonstrate köcan.
According to the Federal office for the environment up to 150 different medicinal substances are in German Gewäwaters and Böto find some davon seem to affect the environment in fact.
Hormones feminize fish
So researchers tested the water in europämountain lakes and found erhöhte concentrations of substances, the äsimilar to hormones about the ingredients used in the Anti – baby pill, or plasticizers from plastic bottles. The result is that the mämale fish in the lakes feminize, köyou can even die infertile, at worst.
KläRS müaccess shot the increasingly expensive methods of cleaning, such unerwüto fish desired substances from the water. One of the methods is testing at the moment, the Kläof a plant in Aachen-Soers.
Cleansing Ozone
By using Ozone gas, the substances to be filtered out here. "The drug residues are crack, is crushed, and in the downstream stages beseitigt", erklärt Brückner (see chart). The Team of the environmental expert is made up of engineers, biologists, chemists and statisticians. Their common goal is the Wasserqualitä is;to improve t.
Stages of the wastewater treatment plant with advanced treatment stage
➊ A computing hält Bulky items such as plastic bottles zurück. ➋ In the sand trap, grease floats on top, Sand settles on the bottom. ➌ In The Vorklärbecken to drop more solids to the ground.
➍ Now bacteria. You ernädo of organic components in the wastewater. ➎ In The Nachklärbecken drops of mud on the ground, the water is then
well-cleaned.
➏ Advanced cleaning step (Ozonation): Reactive Ozone gas is directed into the water. This drug remains to be mined.
➐ In the clear water of nitrification bacteria, ammonia processed to nitrate. ➑ In the Filter, the water is freed of substances by means of coarse and fine Sand from the last. ➒ The recycled water fließt in a river or stream.
Since the beginning of January 2018, the er­ is;specific cleaning step on – with a certain degree of success. "By the Ozonation köcan a good 80 percent of the track materials removed werden", erklärt Brückner. However, not all substances respond to the method. "Some of the active ingredients are verächanged, but not entfernt", erläexplained Brauer from the German Federal environment Agency. They also affect the Umworld – how, exactly, weiß so far, no one.
Appeal to Ädoctors and pharmaceutical companies
"We should not solely on the Expansion of the großen Klärplants verlassen", stressed brewer. According to a survey spülen, 47 percent of the Bundesbütrouble your abrun flüone drugs occasionally, just down the toilet. "However, it is important that medications are disposed of properly werden", Brauer says.
In General, gehören old drugs in the Restmüll, if it is thermally recycled. Also, many pharmacies will take expired or unused funds zurück; by law you are not obliged to do so. Environmental experts call zusäin addition to Ädoctors and pharmaceutical companies. Physicians should umweltverträurgent if you are several drugs auswä most prescribe;miss köcan. In the development of new drugs köcould the manufacturer not only on the effectiveness of Köbody, but also the degradability.
Wait on plants and animals
Engineer Brückner thinks even further: "Außerdem should Krankenhäuser or old people’s homes with smaller facilities ausgerübe stet, in order for the trace substances be fished out, and not strong verdünnt in the Kläa plant land."
In the Kläof a plant in Aachen-Soers is not completed the pilot project to purify Water for a long time. Brückner and her Team want to the increased Wasserqualität not only measure köcan, but also see: "Schön wäit re, if as a result of the improved wastewater also animal and Pflanzentypes ansiedeln", the environmental expert says. "But that may be a while."
You can also read:
Drug expired: And then?
Medicines should be used only until the specified period of time. Darüaddition, no longer guaranteed by the manufacturer für effect and safety