Determination of veterinary pharmaceutical runoffs from a swine manure pile using LC-MS/MS

Abstract

The mass usage of veterinary pharmaceuticals in farms has contributed to environmental pollution in vicinity waters, soils, and sediments from farms and composting facilities. In the present study, we investigated the usage of four antibiotics (viz., lincomycin, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim) to understand their contamination routes from livestock manure piles. Residual levels of these antibiotics in a nearby reservoir were set as a positive control (Site 1), and a swine manure pile in a farm (Site 2) and a soil sample around the manure pile (Site 3) were selected for this study. Artificial rainwater was flowed into the manure sample (Site 2), the soil sample around the manure pile (Site 3), and a soil sample around the vicinity river (Site 4). A stream sample (Site 5) around the manure pile and river water near the manure pile (Site 6) were also collected. For qualitative and quantitative analyses, analytical validation was performed, and all the four antibiotics were detected at Site 1 in the concentration range of 0.03-1.6 mu g/L. Lincomycin was the antibiotic with the highest detection level. At Site 2, the detection level of all antibiotics remained at 0.3-17.3 mu g/L, and their residual amounts were continuously detected in subsequent samples with approximately 30-fold decrease. The migration of antibiotics was confirmed to be independent of pH value. Therefore, this study indicates that farm manure pile should be thoroughly managed for antibiotic contamination in vicinity areas with periodical monitoring, especially waterways.