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Description

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) are the chemicals that do not break down. They will pass through your body, end up in your waste and eventually in the wastewater or sewage. PPCPs are currently considered as contaminants of concern. PPCPs can cause both short-term and long-term harm to living organisms. They can disrupt algae, are endocrine disruptors and can affect the behavior and reproduction of invertebrates, fish, and even humans. Currently, there has been no official testing of PPCP chemicals along the Merrimack River. The method created uses Solid Phase Extraction (SPE), Nitrogen Evaporator and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS) to analyse our samples. We will be testing to see if the method our lab created is effective by sampling different locations along the Merrimack River. Our results of which PPCPs are present at each sample location will be shown. Our results can help impact how we look at the treatment of waste water at Sanitary Water Districts.

Publication Date

4-30-2026

Changes in Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) Levels in the Merrimack River

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