Stability of tetracycline in water and liquid manure.

The objective of this study was to establish a suitable model for the prediction of the environmental stability of antibiotics in water and liquid manure. The model consists of incubation systems for solutions with installations for stirring ventilation. It was used to examine the stability of tetracycline in ventilated and unventilated Ringer's solution and liquid pig manure for a period of 8 days. Tetracycline concentrations decreased significantly during the experiment. The fastest degradation was observed in ventilated liquid manure. The test might be used as a screening test for the determination of the degradation half-life of antibiotics in the first phase of an environmental safety study according to directive 92/18/EEC.