Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in Surface Water

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) encompass a family of compounds used by individuals for health and cosmetic purposes, as well as compounds used by the agricultural industry to maintain livestock health. The increasing number of individuals who are using these products has been an environmental issue of concern. PPCPs are introduced into the environment via sewage plants and natural disposal e.g. animal excrement and landfill waste. These compounds can then contaminate rivers, aquifers, and soils.
This work demonstrates a method for evaluating PPCPs at parts per trillion levels in surface water using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS).