U.S. nationwide reconnaissance of ten infrequently monitored antibiotics in municipal biosolids

Ten infrequently monitored antibiotics in biosolids were examined in archived American sewage sludges (n = 79) collected as part of the 2006/2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey. This study inspected the occurrence of amoxicillin, ampicillin, erythromycin, furazolidone [proxy metabolite: 3-(2-nitrobenzylidenamino)-2-oxazolidinone (NP-AOZ)], nalidixic acid, oxolinic acid, oxytetracycline, spiramycin, sulfadimidine, and sulfadimethoxine in sewage sludges after nearly a decade in frozen storage. Six antibiotics were detected at the following average concentrations (ng/g dry weight): amoxicillin (1.0), nalidixic acid (19.1), oxolinic acid (2.7), erythromycin (0.6), oxytetracycline (4.5), and ampicillin (14.8). The remaining four were not detected in any samples (<method detection limit, ng/g dry weight): sulfadimethoxine (<0.5), sulfadimidine (<1.0), spiramycin (<2.0), and NP-AOZ (<20.0). This study provides the first data on spiramycin, NP-AOZ, and nalidixic acid in U.S. sewage sludges. This study also provides new data on the losses of 5 antibiotics during long term frozen storage (-20 °C) in comparison to the 2006/2007 U.S. EPA Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey.