Occurrence and Spread of Emerging Organic Pollutants and Antibiotic Resistance in Urban Waters of Sri Lanka

Emerging pollutants such as Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in water resources are now considered a global water quality issue. Concerns associated with the presence of PPCPs in the environment include abnormal physiological processes and reproductive impairment, increased cancer incidence, the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and the potential for increased toxicity of chemical mixtures. However, the number of studies on PPCPs in the aquatic environment and their use in wastewater tracking in developing countries, such as Sri Lanka, remains limited. Consequently, during the last five years, we have conducted various research to establish the comparative occurrence of PPCPs and antibiotics in urban waters in Sri Lanka. Our studies detected around 20 PPCPs in urban waters in Sri Lanka. Acetaminophen was dominant in hospital discharge (up to 124 µg/L), while caffeine was the most significant contributor to municipal wastewater (up to 69 µg/L). We suggest using Caffeine, Carbamazepine, and Acetaminophen for detecting domestic pollution in groundwater and surface water. We noticed that 50 to 100 % of antibiotic resistance in urban waters of Sri Lanka is comparatively higher than that of other countries, alarming that multidrug-resistant has become a significant concern for community health.