Don\'t write off date palm leaves as a waste material. According to chemists at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), date palm leaves can now be of help in removing chemicals emanating from pharmaceuticals and dyes in the hospital waste water before it is discharged into the municipal sewerage in Oman. The analytical and environmental research group at the Department of Chemistry at the College of Science at SQU has started a research project with a long-term objective of establishing a physico-chemical unit for the treatment of hospital waste water before being released into the sewerage system. Dr El Said El Shafey, principal investigator of this research project, said that they could extract novel dehydrated and activated carbons from date palm leaflets, which is a cheap and sustainable resource in the country. According to estimates, around 180,000 tonnes of date palm leaves are produced annually in Oman. The scientists tested different carbons for removal of certain pharmaceuticals, including ciprofloxacin, paracetamol, fexofenadine, lisinoprril, diphenhydramine and chloropheneramine maleate from aquatic solutions. They also examined the removal of heavy metals and some dyes. The results showed that the cheap dehydrated carbon from date palm leaflets proves to be as efficient as activated carbon for removing pharmaceuticals and dyes. However, dehydrated carbons showed extraordinary results for the removal of heavy metals as cation exchanger and these can be reused many times. Dr El Shafey revealed that the findings of the research would be soon utilised in hospital waste water treatment in a pilot scale with an objective of establishing a physicochemical unit of hospital waste water treatment prior to its mixing with municipal wastewater. The project involves several undergraduate research project students and three master students with three publications in international journals and another four on their way for publication. According to the researchers, hospitals consume a significant amount of water, ranging from 400 to 1200 L/day/bed, and generate significant amounts of wastewater -” usually loaded with microorganisms, heavy metals, hormones, radioactive isotopes, pharmaceuticals, disinfectants, active substances, pigments, dyes, chloro-organics and drug components as they are widely used in hospitals. Many antibiotics, anticancer drugs, pain killers and endocrine chemicals were detected in waste water discharged from hospitals. Not easily degradable Pharmaceuticals are designed to cure diseases, fight infections, or reduce symptoms. Thousands of such compounds are currently used in medicine such as pain-killers, antibiotics, contraceptives, beta-blockers, lipid regulators, tranquillizers and anti-cancer drugs. Dr El Shafey said the main challenge of pharmaceuticals is that many of these active substances are not easily degradable as they bypass the biological wastewater treatments and become ubiquitous in the environment. \"For example, levels of ciprofloxacin antibiotic were detected in sludge and soil and accumulated in vegetables such as lettuce, cucumber and barley in a recent study. Pharmaceuticals have adverse effect in the aquatic ecosystem and reported to cause feminisation of male fish and inhibiting photosynthesis in algae. Antibiotic-resisting bacteria can also develop as a result of the release of antibiotic into the aquatic system -” causing disturbance in the ecological balance and affecting biodiversity. The regular use of disinfectants in hospitals, particularly chlorinating agents, leads to the production of chloro-organic compounds. Such compounds are persistent in the environment and known to cause cancer and malformation,- he said. Heavy metals and radionuclides in hospitals, even in a trace level, have known to have adverse effects on public health. Endocrine substances such as steroids, nonylphenol and bisphenol A, released through waste water from hospitals, can cause disturbance in hormonal balance, which would eventually lead to dysfunction of the various organs or internal systems. \"Direct discharge of waste water into the aquatic system without treatment causes immense pollution to the surface water, ground water and soil,- Dr El Shafey said. Dr Haider Al Lawati and Dr. Fakhr El Din Soliman, academics at the Department of Chemistry, are the other members in this research project. From: Times of Oman.