Occurrence, fate and risk assessment of antibiotics in water environment of China

Abstract

In recent years, with the wide use of antibiotics in medical treatment and animal husbandry, the antibiotics enters the water environment by the waste water discharge and excrement. They had caused potential threat to human and enviroment. This paper gives an overview of the use of antibiotics and environmental pollution in China., concluding that the concentration of antibiotics in water environment at ng·L-1 level. We summarized the distribution characteristics which suggest the concentrations of antibiotics in the north and east of China are higher than those of the south and west respectively. The migration and transformation of antibiotics in aquatic environment and their biological toxicity were analyzed. The RQS is more than 100(a high ecological risk value)in Gulf of Bohai, Haihe River and Xiaoqing River. At the end, combining with the threat of antibiotics in the aquatic environment, the suggestins are proposed.