Total concentrations of heavy metals and occurrence of antibiotics in sewage sludges from cities throughout China

Purpose A total of 58 dewatered sludge samples were collected from 58 sewage treatment plants (STPs) geographically located in 31 provincial cities of China; the concentrations of heavy metals and antibiotics were determined to monitor the pollutant levels on a large scale, and the pollutant concentrations in sludge samples from different sources of sewage sludge and different geographical regions were compared.