Cytostatics cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide – do they occur in Slovene wastewaters and surface waters

To assess pollution of the Slovene aquatic environment by the cytostatics cyclophosphamide (CF) and ifosfamide (IF), we developed an analytical method for their analysis in wastewater and surface water by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Samples were collected and analyzed from the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ljubljana and from the Ljubljanica River downstream from the WWTP discharge. Results revealed concentrations in wastewater from the Institute of Oncology of 12.1 μg L-1 and 10.5 μg L-1 for CF and IF, respectively. At other locations the concentrations of CF and IF were under their detection limits. In the future the method will be further optimized in order to detect lower concentrations of CF and IF. In addition, the study will be extended to include wastewaters and surface waters from other locations in Slovenia as well as the main metabolites of CF and IF.