Research looks into ways to better gauge, curb pharmaceutical impacts on our region's aquatic resources

Susquehanna University Associate Professor of Chemistry Lou Ann Tom works with undergrad students on studies that help reduce the potential impact of pharmaceuticals on our waterways.

​​Armed with 19 years of experience in various roles with Merck Pharmaceuticals out of Riverside, Lou Ann Tom continues to conduct research into ways to reduce impacts of pharmaceuticals that wind up in our waterways via her role as Associate Professor of Chemistry at Susquehanna University.

Among the variety of medications created at Merck, “We made Ivermectin, which is fairly toxic and treating it was a high priority, so I got involved in studying low levels of pharmaceuticals that may wind up in the river,” she said. “Some of the components were very difficult to analyze because some things can be toxic at levels that could be very, very low – almost too low to measure.

“Ivermectin can be an issue at parts per trillion. Most of the common analytical techniques have an ability to test to parts per million or parts per billion. I started studying ways in which we could develop a method to see that compound at parts per trillion. From there, I started looking at other compounds that were common and potentially could be toxic in really low levels.”

That has led Tom to working with molecularly imprinted polymers, which are designed to detect a very specific compound at low levels.

“If you have a sample of river water with other things in it, the polymers are designed to detect and concentrate a very specific compound, and then you can use regular techniques to analyze it,” said Tom.
 
Photodegradation
Tom’s research also is looking at a potentially game-changing way to de-toxify medication before it gets to our waterways via the process of photodegradation.

“There are some great programs out there like the med takeback work by Geisinger, but too often when the public has extra medication and people aren’t sure how to properly get rid of it, some may be thrown in the trash or down the sewer, and then there is the potential it gets into our environment,” said Tom. “We are looking at methods to degrade the pharmaceutical in an easy way so when they are disposed of in more traditional ways, the toxic component is gone.”

Her work has revolved around the use of ultraviolet light as an agent to degrade drug toxicity.

“Ideally, at some point, there would be some sort of box or unit where the public could drop off unused pharmaceuticals and they can immediately be treated via UV light and maybe a catalyst to speed up the degradation,” she said. “Once the toxicity is gone, it could be disposed of and no longer a threat to the environment.”

So far, the research shows some very promising results, especially for medications that are water soluble, dissolving in water on their own naturally.

“For water-soluble pharmaceuticals, degradation using just UV light is very quick,” she said. “Within a matter of a few hours, the component has either broken down or it is in levels that are much lower – usually at a point where we can no longer detect it using regular methods.”

Some of the most common water-soluble medications Tom has studied via her photodegradation work include lisinopril, albuterol, hydrochlorothiazide and atenolol.

“We did a survey looking at which are the most common pharmaceuticals that people have left over and may need to dispose of,” she said. “These water-soluble drugs degrade very quickly with UV light. You need to use specialized equipment to see these in very, very low levels, like parts per trillion, but we do know they degrade to less than parts-per-million levels in less than a day.”

However, water insoluble medications – such as warfarin (Coumadin or Jantoven), phenytoin (Dilantin), fenofibrate (Tricor or Triglide), carbamazepine (Tegretol) and sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim) – pose a different issue.

“Some of the most common water-insoluble drugs take much longer to degrade under UV light – like over a week and some of them two weeks without really degrading in toxicity,” said Tom. “With these pharmaceuticals, we are experimenting with catalysts that, when used with the UV light, can speed up that process.”

One of those potential catalysts may be found in an unlikely source.

“I am working with a colleague at St. Francis University who is doing work with acid mine drainage and there is a theory that some of the acid mine drainage residuals, like iron oxide, could potentially speed up the degradation when used with UV treatment,” said Tom. “Obviously this would be important in not only in speeding up that process, but also providing a beneficial usage of mine drainage residual.”
 
Lack of recent statistics
Despite indicators that pharmaceuticals are increasingly impacting the aquatic ecosystem, there hasn’t been any recent studies into actual levels of them in our watershed, according to several main sources.

“We have not sampled for pharmaceuticals in the past few years,” said Andrew Reif of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). “Our last major effort was in 2006-2009.”

Results from that specific study found “A total of 51 different contaminants of emerging concern were detected in streamwater samples collected from 2007 through 2009 at 13 stream sampling sites located downstream from a wastewater-effluent-discharge site” within our greater watershed. Among the most commonly detected compounds were carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole – two of the water-insoluble drugs that Tom and her team are targeting in their photodegradation work.

Mindful med disposal
“We know that there are traces of pharmaceuticals and insecticides being found in the waterways. They can do potential damage to the life within the river, as well as life that is around the river. The studies of how high those levels need to be in order to be damaging are ongoing,” she said. “However, the fact that we are finding levels of pharmaceuticals in waterways has to be concerning to anybody who uses those waters for recreation, and, ultimately, our drinking water comes from those sources, too.”

Which is why people need to be mindful in how they dispose of unused medication, Tom added.

“Disposing of any sort of pharmaceutical in any way where it can get back to the environment – either by flushing them down a toilet or throwing them in the trash – should concern anyone who is the least bit environmentally conscious,” she said.

“There are enough programs now where there are takeback boxes and takeback days where people should really try to use these resources in the disposing of their unused medications in order to help the environment.”

According to the Geisinger medication take back program webpage, medications that are collected in this way “are securely transported to an incinerator for final disposal.”

“I don’t think there are very many of those incinerators,” said Tom. “I think there are only a few that have the proper regulations to be able to accept these and safely incinerate them.”

Geisinger has been an important partner for Tom and her team in finding alternate ways to safely dispose of medications without negatively impacting the environment.

“In our work, we start with a pure compound, and then we switch over and try to compare that with the actual pills or capsules that the public has because that’s the form that they’re going to be disposed in,” she said. “Geisinger has provided a lot of the actual pill form of the drugs for us to continue using in the studies.”

Outside of Geisinger’s assistance, Tom’s research into photodegradation of pharmaceuticals has been mostly driven in-house at Susquehanna University.

“I am sure there are other people doing this sort of work, but we are doing it here at Susquehanna with undergrad students doing the bulk of the work,” she said. “They are learning how to use the equipment and how to do the analyses, so it is beneficial for them. It is beneficial for me, and ultimately, I think it is beneficial for everybody.”

To contact Lou Ann Tom directly about her work, send an email to TomL@susqu.edu

For more information about Geisinger’s med take back program, visit https://bit.ly/3vjp9ug

As more results become available through Tom’s research into photodegradation and molecularly imprinted polymers, it will be shared via
www.middlesusquehannariverkeeper.org/blog

Listen to the full interview with Lou Ann Tom, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Susquehanna University, in our most recent episode of the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Podcast:

Lou Ann Tom, of Susquehanna University, continues work on photodegradation of medications in an effort to find ways to reduce their toxicity before they reach our streams and river.

An advocate of our outdoor resources, Lou Ann Tom urges everyone to mindfully dispose of leftover medications in a safe manner, touting Geisinger's med take back program.

Check out our podcast page for the most up-to-date list of previous podcast episodes. Also, you can access them individually here:

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