Hospital Effluents as a Source for Platinum in the Environment

The fact that catalytic converters emit platinum into the environment is well known. Other possible sources such as plastics, fertilizers or tyres are being considered. However, the detectable concentrations of platinum in the environment are higher than those calculated from experiments with isolated engines testing these emissions. Another possible source of platinum is effluents from hospitals which contain platinum from excreted anti-neoplastic drugs, cisplatin and carboplatin. The concentration of platinum in the sewage of various hospitals and hospital departments was determined and the detected concentrations were approximately 110-176 ng/l Pt during the daytime and approximately 38 ng/l Pt at night. As calculated from annual consumption data, the concentrations should range from 110-210 ng/l Pt. Compared to platinum emissions from other sources the effluents of hospitals are not the most important ones, but they should not be disregarded.