الملخص الإنجليزي
Abstract
Hospital wastewater (HWW) contains various types of pollutants including pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, radionuclides, halogenated organic compounds, pathogens and other chemicals. In this study, samples from HWW from Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) were analyzed and compared with treated wastewater by sewage treatment plant (STP) and membrane bio-reactor (Haya Company, Oman). The analysis includes heavy metals, radionuclides and some pharmaceuticals in addition to general water characterization. The sewage sludge produced by STP was also analyzed for these pollutants. A method was developed and validated for quantitative and qualitative analysis of 6 drugs(metformin, atenolol, chlorpheniramine, tripolidine, diphenhydramine and citalopram)in HWW using LC-MS-MS. The validated method provides good separation, reasonable sensitivity and selectivity for the studied compounds. HWW possesses high levels of total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC) and turbidity than treated wastewater. Elements including B, Mg, Al, P, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Sr, Ni, Co and Cd were analyzed. The analysis showed low environmental levels of those elements in HWW and treated wastewater except for Cd (0.087 ng mL-?), Co (0.124 ng mL-) and Ni (0.191 ng ml-'). Some radionuclides were also found in hospital wastewater C$137, K40, Ra226, Th234, 1131, Ac228, Sb125 and Be? Levels of diphenhydramine (2.24 ng mL-1) and chlorpheniramine (0.293 ng mL) were found in HWW. Treated water samples show less concentration of most pollutants with an advantage for membrane bio-reactor technology than STP method. Sewage sludge from STP showed higher levels of heavy metals, radionuclides and pharmaceuticals. Diphenhydramine, chlorpheniramine and citalopram levels are 137, 0.95 and 169 ng g-', respectively. The study shows that hospital wastewater needs a physicochemical treatment prior to its mixing with municipal wastewater. The study also recommends that the sludge from STP should not be used for agricultural purposes as it possesses high levels of heavy metals, radionuclides and pharmaceuticals.
