| "Contamination of surface waters by pharmaceutical chemicals has recently been recognized as an emerging environmental problem. Some Pharmaceuticals have been detected from sewage effluents and river waters receiving discharge from sewage treatment. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of antibacterial agents, levofloxacin (LVFX) and clarithromycin (CAM), which are widely used in Japan, on aquatic organisms. Ecotoxicity testing using aquatic organisms revealed that the toxicity of LVFX on the marine bacterium and the crustacean was low or none. Meanwhile, the toxic effect of LVFX to the microalga was observed at a concentration above 630μg/L. The microalga, Selenastrum capricornutum, was most sensitive to the antibacterial agent, LVFX among the test organisms. The toxicity of CAM on the marine bacterium and the crustacean was low or none, which was similar to the results of LVFX. The toxic effect of CAM to the microalga was observed at a concentration above 6.3μg/L. Any growth of the microalga was never observed at a concentration more than 25μg/L. The phytotoxicity of CAM to microalga was much higher than that of LVFX." |
