The quality of wastewater greatly affects the aquatic environment. Currently, a significant amount of emerging pollutants are entering wastewater in the form of pharmaceutical contaminants, industrial chemicals, pesticides, toxins, etc. However, conventional wastewater treatment processes at WWTPs are not effective enough for these emerging pollutants. Therefore, emerging pollutants represent a significant source of wastewater pollution and associated pollution of surface water and even drinking water. The main sources of pharmaceutical contaminants are analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs, and of these, the most common in wastewater are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The aim is to provide a comprehensive review of the available information on NSAIDs in the aquatic environment, i.e., their occurrence, effects on the environment, formation of main metabolites, and methods of NSAID removal, with a focus on current trends and possible directions for future research.

Following the growing interest in monitoring the status, behavior and impact of micropollutants in the environment, a significant area of concern revolves around the degradation of plastics, which is closely associated with a range of environmental risks. The long-term goal is to investigate the degradation process of plastics in an aqueous environment within controlled laboratory settings and analyze the status of degraded particles over a specific period. The proposed methodology, which is the subject of this paper, aims to achieve this objective. Over the period of one year, both conventional and biodegradable plastics are subjected to the combined effects of UV radiation and water motion. This paper presents the design of laboratory setting and experimental setup for conducting the degradation process. Based on its implementation, the degradation process is evaluated including weight loss and conducting microscopic and FTIR analysis of microplastic particles (MP). By gaining a better comprehension of these processes, we expect to be able to effectively mitigate the adverse environmental consequences caused by plastics.

With the increasing prevalence of monitored micro-pollutants in the environment, new challenges arise in their determination. Currently, the issue of microplastics in the environment is a highly debated topic. This article focuses on the assessment of micro-particles in drinking water samples collected in the Czech Republic. The samples for analysis were collected at two locations, twice a day. Particle separation was achieved through vacuum filtration, and particle identification was performed using the µ-FTIR method. A total of 40 particles were analyzed, and their shape, color, and material composition were determined. The study results demonstrated the presence of microplastics and additives used in plastic production in the drinking water samples. The findings of this article contribute to understanding the issue of micro-particles in drinking water and raise questions for further research and measures to protect public health and the environment.