PRZEMIANY FARMACEUTYKÓW W WODZIE BASENOWEJ

Swimming pool water is a mixture of chemical substances with a composition that has not been completely recognized until now. Various pollutants and chemical contaminants are entering the pool basin. They may interact with each other or undergo numerous changes in the pool installation what should be considered as a potential threat to the health of swimmers. This work is a preliminary study to determine the transformation path of small-molecule organic micropollutants in swimming pool water treatment systems and thus to understand the physical changes and chemical reactions of various compounds that may occur in these systems. This study was carried out on the example of caffeine, which is a pharmaceutical compound from the group of stimulants. Its presence in pool water has been reported by numerous studies conducted all over the world, including Poland. In the presented study, the focus was on checking the natural degradation of this compound under the influence of sunlight determined using the gas chromatography method. It was shown that caffeine undergoes a natural degradation process in the water environment to varying degrees depending on the process conditions and the physico-chemical composition of the water matrix. The presence of organic and inorganic compounds had an adverse effect on the degradation of caffeine.