Characterization and genotoxicity evaluation of effluent from a pharmacy industry

Abstract

The pharmaceutical, textile and food industry bear much of the responsibility for environmental pollution. In order to appropriately treat and mitigate the effects of pharmaceutical effluent, it is necessary to study it in order to determine its physical and chemical composition. In this work, the physicochemical characteristics of a pharmaceutical effluent were studied, to include the concentration of phenolic compounds, heavy metals, total phosphorus, nitrate, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and dissolved oxygen (DO). The in vivo micronucleus test was performed in mice, for investigation and possible genotoxicity and mutagenicity of the effluent from the pharmaceutical hub in Anápolis - Goiás. In all samples, only the phenolics showed concentrations above the values established by CONAMA Resolution 430/2011. The high concentrations of total phenols and synergy between metals found in wastewater can be linked to mutagenicity and genotoxicity found in the effluent, since the results of the micronucleus test indicated higher micronucleus formation when the mice were exposed to the effluent. The results of the study highlighted the necessity of characterizing these effluents in order to determine an appropriate treatment.