Occurrence and Examination of removal efficiency of Five Anti-Cancer Drugs and medicine derived from Tel 'Ha'Shomer' Hospital

Daniel Zachor Movshovitz, Water Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel (daniel.zachor@gmail.com)
Igal Gozlan, Tami (imi), Tami (imi) Institute For Research & Development, Tel Aviv, Israel
Lakshmi Prasanna, Water Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Dror Avisar, Water Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Gemcitabine, Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Dexamethasone and Paclitaxel are five anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals used extensively in hospitals worldwide, one of which is ”Tel Ha’Shomer” hospital, located the center of in Israel. These chemotherapy drugs highly toxic, as they physically interact with DNA strands, unabling cell multiplication thus causing cell death. Most of them remain unchanged and still biologically active after they exit the human body. Due to lack of regulations and enforcement, hospitals in Israel are not required for wastewater pre-treatment, these compounds discharge to the nearby domestic wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). These molecules are resistant to traditional, best available treatment (BAT) wastewater treatment based on biological treatment and may spread around various water environments. A unique treatment pilot system was designed and implemented at the hospital by our research team to eliminate these molecules.  A specific analytical method using SPE as a sample preparation and LC-Q-TOF for separation and identification was developed to detect these compounds and to measure their occurrence in "Tel Ha'Shomer" hospital wastewater before, during and after the treatment processes. Further analytical method optimization tests and results will be presented.