A systematic review of pharmaceutical and personal care products as emerging contaminants in waters: The panorama of West Africa

Jenita Cangola; Felix K Abagale; Samuel J Cobbina

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168633

A systematic review of pharmaceutical and personal care products as emerging contaminants in waters: The panorama of West Africa

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Feb 10:911:168633. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168633. Epub 2023 Nov 18.

Authors

Jenita Cangola¹, Felix K Abagale², Samuel J Cobbina³

Affiliations

¹ West African Centre for Water, Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA), University for Development Studies, P. O. Box TL 1882, Tamale, Ghana; Department of Environment and Sustainability Sciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana. Electronic address: cangolaj@gmail.com.
² West African Centre for Water, Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA), University for Development Studies, P. O. Box TL 1882, Tamale, Ghana; Department of Agricultural Engineering, University for Development Studies, P. O. Box TL 1882, Tamale, Ghana.
³ West African Centre for Water, Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA), University for Development Studies, P. O. Box TL 1882, Tamale, Ghana; Department of Environment and Sustainability Sciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.

PMID: 37981152
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168633

Abstract

Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) are widely used to prevent or treat human and animal diseases, thereby improving the quality of daily life. Poor management of post-consumer products is recognized worldwide, as they negatively affect the ecosystems where they are discharged. The first action to prevent negative impacts is the state of knowledge regarding their occurrence. This paper critically reports the panorama of West Africa in terms of PPCPs occurrence in different water sources. To achieve this objective, a systematic review was conducted on PPCPs in West Africa following the PRISMA guidelines. Databases, including African Journals Online, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Dimensions, were used for this search. Thirty-five articles, representing 58 % of West African countries, were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of these articles, one included data from multiple West African countries, while the remaining 34 exclusively focused on Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria. The results revealed a variety of PPCPs investigated, about 27 groups and 112 compounds, with greater emphasis on antibiotics, analgesics and PSHXEs. HPLC was the predominant analytical method used, resulting in total concentrations of PPCPs in the range of 200,000 to 3,200,000 ng/L in drinking water, 12 to 700,000 ng/L in groundwater, 0.42 to 107,800,000 ng/L in surface water, 8.5 to 121,310,000 ng/L in wastewater, and 440 to 421,700 ng/L in tap water. Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon reported the highest number of PPCPs investigated and consequently the highest concentration of cases. These compounds present a high potential ecological risk, with >50 % exceeding the risk quotient limit. Therefore, West Africa as a community needs integrated approaches and strategies to monitor water, especially transboundary resources. This review is timely and provides pertinent information to policymakers and researchers on PPCPs in water.

Keywords: PPCPs; Pollution; Water resources; West Africa.

Publication types

Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Cosmetics* / analysis
Drinking Water*
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Ghana
Humans
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Cosmetics
Drinking Water
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Water Pollutants, Chemical