Wastewater surveillance for 168 pharmaceuticals and metabolites in a WWTP: Occurrence, temporal variations and feasibility of metabolic biomarkers for intake estimation

• First WBE research on a broad range of pharmaceuticals and metabolites in China. • 149 out of 168 pharmaceuticals and metabolites were detected in wastewater. • Weekly pattern of PNDLs in public holiday is different with in a normal week. • A framework for evaluating feasibility of metabolic biomarker was proposed. • Metabolite/parent compound ratios provided useful information for WBE studies. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is amply used for mining information about public health such as the estimation of consumption/intake of certain substances. Yet, proper biomarker selection is critical to obtain reliable data. This study measured a broad range of pharmaceuticals and metabolites in a wastewater treatment plant in Beijing, China, and evaluated their suitability as consumption estimation biomarkers. Wastewater sampling was conducted during a normal week and two holiday weeks to assess the impact of the holiday on population normalized daily mass loads (PNDLs). One hundred and forty-nine out of 168 pharmaceuticals were detected, with 94 analytes being quantified in all sampling events. Moreover, digestive drug cimetidine (