Pharmaceutical compounds, which are used to treat diseases in humans, are often excreted as parent compounds or their metabolites from the human body. Conventional wastewater treatment plants are not designed for the removal of pharmaceuticals and other organic compounds from wastewater and therefore have limited capabilities to eliminate such compounds. Pharmaceuticals and their transformation products are therefore transferred to the broader environment by disposal of wastewater from wastewater treatment plants and via land application of biosolids. Phytoremediation is the use of plants to remove organic and inorganic contaminants from the environment and can be useful in reducing the concentration of antibiotics in wastewater or biosolids. In this talk, I will introduce the concept of phytoremediation and present results on the attenuation of selected antibiotics from solutions via two phytoremediation mechanisms, phytoextraction and sorption to plant roots using cattail (Typha latifolia L.) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.).

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Zoom Webinar. Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.