<p>Pharmaceuticals that are found in marine ecosystems are a threatening environmental concern, which is known to harm both animal and plant life. One of the reasons for this problem is that the waste water treatment techniques are not optimized to clear waste water from its pharmaceuticals contain. In this master thesis four Swedish treatment wetlands were studied, and their ability to reduce numerous pharmaceuticals in waste water. The four treatment wetlands that were studied were those in Oxelösund, Trosa, Nynäshamn and Eskilstuna. Two ecotoxicological tests and chemical analysis were used. The ecotoxicological tests were performed on the copepod <em>Nitocra spinipes</em> and macro algae <em>Ceramium tenuicorne</em>, but the results were ambiguous and could not be related to the chemical analysis. The result from the chemical analysis showed that 50-70 % of the substances were reduced to some degree, and of which 15 % were almost completely reduced. In Nynäshamn’s wetland and Oxelösund’s wetland the pharmaceutical treatment were more efficient than in Trosa’s wetland and Eskilstuna’s wetland. This was probably due to the, at the time, more efficient biological activity. The pharmaceuticals that dominated the incoming waters to all the wetlands were more or less the same. On the contrary, substances were reduced to different degrees in the four wetlands. However, the reduction patterns for both Nynäshamn and Oxelösund were similar, which suggest that the same processes dominated in both wetlands. As the study was performed in cold winter conditions with bad oxygen supply it is likely that greater reduction would be obtained in warmer conditions.</p>

Pharmaceuticals that are found in marine ecosystems are a threatening environmental concern, which is known to harm both animal and plant life. One of the reasons for this problem is that the waste water treatment techniques are not optimized to clear waste water from its pharmaceuticals contain. In this master thesis four Swedish treatment wetlands were studied, and their ability to reduce numerous pharmaceuticals in waste water. The four treatment wetlands that were studied were those in Oxelösund, Trosa, Nynäshamn and Eskilstuna. Two ecotoxicological tests and chemical analysis were used. The ecotoxicological tests were performed on the copepod Nitocra spinipes and macro algae Ceramium tenuicorne, but the results were ambiguous and could not be related to the chemical analysis. The result from the chemical analysis showed that 50-70 % of the substances were reduced to some degree, and of which 15 % were almost completely reduced. In Nynäshamn’s wetland and Oxelösund’s wetland the pharmaceutical treatment were more efficient than in Trosa’s wetland and Eskilstuna’s wetland. This was probably due to the, at the time, more efficient biological activity. The pharmaceuticals that dominated the incoming waters to all the wetlands were more or less the same. On the contrary, substances were reduced to different degrees in the four wetlands. However, the reduction patterns for both Nynäshamn and Oxelösund were similar, which suggest that the same processes dominated in both wetlands. As the study was performed in cold winter conditions with bad oxygen supply it is likely that greater reduction would be obtained in warmer conditions.