Journal Article

Acute Toxicity and Environmental Risks of Five Veterinary Pharmaceuticals for Aquatic Macroinvertebrates

Kreuzig, Robert, Bundschuh, Mirco, Schulz, Ralf, Hahn, Torsten, Höltge, Sibylla, Ehrlich, Bert

2016

Overview

Due to the high use of antibiotics and antiparasitics for the treatment of livestock, there is concern about the potential impacts of the release of these compounds into freshwater ecosystems. In this context, the present study quantified the acute toxicity of two antibiotics (sulfadiazine and sulfadimidine), and three antiparasitic agents (flubendazole, fenbendazole, ivermectin) for nine freshwater invertebrate species. These experiments revealed a low degree of toxicity for the sulfonamide antibiotics, with limited implications in the survival of all test species at the highest test concentrations (50 and 100 mg/L). In contrast, all three antiparasitic agents indicated on the basis of their acute toxicity risks for the aquatic environment. Moreover, chronic toxicity data from the literature for antiparasitics, including effects on reproduction in daphnids, support the concern about the integrity of aquatic ecosystems posed by releases of these compounds. Thus, these pharmaceuticals warrant further careful consideration by environmental risk managers.

• Publisher: Springer US,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Acute toxicity / Annan naturvetenskap / Anti-Bacterial Agents - toxicity / Antibiotics / Antiparasitic agents / Antiparasitic Agents - toxicity / Aquatic ecosystems / Aquatic environment / aquatic invertebrates / Aquatic Organisms - drug effects / Aquatic Pollution / Chronic toxicity / Earth and Environmental Science / Ecosystem / Ecosystem integrity / Ecotoxicology / Environment / Environmental Chemistry / Environmental Health / Environmental management / Environmental risk / fenbendazole / Fenbendazole - toxicity / flubendazole / freshwater / Freshwater ecosystems / Freshwater invertebrates / Invertebrates / ivermectin / Ivermectin - toxicity / Livestock / Macroinvertebrates / Mebendazole - analogs & derivatives / Mebendazole - toxicity / Natural Sciences / Naturvetenskap / Other Natural Sciences / Other Natural Sciences not elsewhere specified / Pollution / reproduction / risk / Risk Assessment / risk managers / Soil Science & Conservation / sulfadiazine / Sulfadiazine - toxicity / sulfamethazine / Sulfamethazine - toxicity / Toxicity / Toxicity Tests, Acute / veterinary drugs / Veterinary Drugs - toxicity / Veterinary medicine / Waste Water Technology / Water Management / Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity / Water Pollution Control / Övrig annan naturvetenskap