Tracing the Movement of Pharmaceuticals in Small Agricultural Watersheds via Tracer-aided Monitoring (2H, 18O, Pharmaceuticals)
Abstract
Environmental presence of pharmaceuticals is of critical concern due to their interaction with soil and aquatic organisms, which can impact human and livestock health. Stemming the spread of antimicrobial resistance through control of human and animal wastewaters is one step in understanding source pathways for pharmaceuticals in the environment. Pharmaceuticals directly connect distant parts of our environment and unify challenges faced in seemingly distinct arenas of food production systems, wastewater management, organismal toxicology and human health. In this study, we trace pharmaceutical contamination from human and agricultural sources aided by stable water isotope analysis at three dairy farms in small northeastern USA watersheds. We have gained a better understanding of the hydrologic flow paths taken by each contaminant source and the impacts of on farm management systems on residue transport. From here we are able to target contaminant sources more precisely to mitigate future contamination.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2022
- Bibcode:
- 2022AGUFM.H13A..02G