Project in charge: Dr. Praveen kumar Reddy Yerabham

Photo: Study Area 

Thematic Area: Emerging Contaminants

Project Guide(s): Dr. K Balakrishna

International partners: (If any) No

MAHE Partner: No 

Village/City: Udupi and Dakshina Kannada District

Project Duration: 3 years

Aim: 

To determine the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), antimicrobial resistance, and the effect of gamma irradiation on PPCP degradation. 

The study/ Innovation:

Dr Praveen’s work focused on detection, quantification, and removal of selected pharmaceuticals, and personal care products (PPCPs) from wastewater treatment plants in southwestern India and their impact on the receiving river. The samples showed higher concentration of these pharmaceuticals in wastewater. Misuse of the antibiotics have led to their proliferation and have drawn multiple fatalities over the years. His research also investigated the presence of drug resistant E. coli bacteria in wastewater samples from Manipal, Udupi. The bacterial strains from the wastewater showed resistance to certain antibiotics like cefotaxime and cefepime etc. The degradation of the PPCPs was greater than 90% within 10KGy gamma radiation dosage.  This research is vital to public health and environment.

PUBLICATIONS (in peer-reviewed journals)

1. Praveenkumarreddy, Y., Vimalkumar, K., Ramaswamy, B., Kumar, V., Singhal, R., Basu, H., Gopal, C., Vandana, K., Bhat, K., Udayashankar, H. and Balakrishna, K., 2021. Assessment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from selected wastewater treatment plants of Southwestern India. Emerging Contaminants, 7, pp.43-51. 

2. Praveenkumarreddy, Y., Akiba, M., Guruge, K.S., Balakrishna, K., Vandana, K.E. and Kumar, V., 2020. Occurrence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli in sewage treatment plants of South India. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 10(1), pp.48-55. 

3. Balakrishna, K., Rath, A., Praveenkumarreddy, Y., Guruge, K.S. and Subedi, B., 2017. A review of the occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Indian water bodies. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety, 137, pp.113-120. 

4. Joshua, D.I., Praveenkumarreddy, Y., Prabhasankar, V.P., D’Souza, A.P., Yamashita, N. and Balakrishna, K., 2020. First report of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in two tropical rivers of southwestern India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192(8), pp.1-8. 

5. Prabhasankar, V.P., Joshua, D.I., Balakrishna, K., Siddiqui, I.F., Taniyasu, S., Yamashita, N., Kannan, K., Akiba, M., Praveenkumarreddy, Y., and Guruge, K.S., 2016. Removal rates of antibiotics in four sewage treatment plants in South India. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(9), pp.8679-8685. 

6. Gopal, C.M., Bhat, K., Praveenkumarreddy, Y., Kumar, V., Basu, H., Joshua, D.I., Singhal, R.K. and Balakrishna, K., 2020. Evaluation of selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products in water matrix using ion trap mass spectrometry: A simple weighted calibration curve approach. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis, 185, p.113214. 

7. Gopal, C.M., Bhat, K., Ramaswamy, B.R., Kumar, V., Singhal, R.K., Basu, H., Udayashankar, H.N., Vasantharaju, S.G., Praveenkumarreddy, Y., Lino, Y. and Balakrishna, K., 2021. Seasonal occurrence and risk assessment of pharmaceutical and personal care products in Bengaluru rivers and lakes, India. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 9(4), p.105610.  

8. Nishitha, D., Praveenkumarreddy, Y., Khare, N., Udayashankar, H. and Balakrishna, K., 2019. Spatio-temporal variability of trace metals and major ions in a small tropical river, southwest coast of India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 191(11). 

BOOK CHAPTER

Binu, K.R., Yamashita, N., Prabhasankar, V.P., Praveenkumarreddy, Y., Shenoy, J.K. and Balakrishna, K., 2022. A First Report of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in a Large West-Flowing River in Southern India. In Impact of COVID-19 on Emerging Contaminants (pp. 3-16). Springer, Singapore

Weblink: 

Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=r3pXiGAAAAAJ&hl=en

Link to Research Publication: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0033-3003