Seasonal and Spatial Distribution of Caffeine, Atrazine, Atenolol and DEET in Surface and Drinking Waters from the Brazilian Federal District

Abstract

Selected emerging contaminants in water samples from the Brazilian capital were investigated by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry after solid-phase extraction. In Paranoá Lake, an urban reservoir that will be used to produce drinking water, caffeine was the most abundant contaminant found (average of 53 ng L ). The role of wastewaters discharges could not be evidenced probably due to the water flow and circulation in the lake. However, higher concentrations were detected during the dry season suggesting the presence of point sources, except for atrazine. In source waters, concentrations were lower in comparison with Paranoá Lake waters. Environmental risk assessment shows the need for further surveys for atrazine. For drinking waters, only caffeine and atrazine were detected at average concentrations of 8.6 and 3.2 ng L -1 , respectively. No risk for human health was observed.

Occurrence of 17α-ethinylestradiol in Paranoá Lake watershed (Brasília, Brazil): sewage, freshwater and treated water

“…Among surface water samples, EE2 residues were detected only at P7 in June (Table 2). The quantification of EE2 at this point during the dry season corroborates Sodré et al (2018), who identified significantly higher concentrations for other emerging contaminants analyzed during the same season in Brazil. Sodré and Sampaio (2020) found EE2 in drinking water from Paranoá Lake using liquid chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometry detector, with a limit of detection between 1.12 and 1.46 ng L -1 .…”

Method Development for Assessing Carbamazepine, Caffeine, and Atrazine in Water Sources from the Brazilian Federal District Using UPLC-QTOF/MS

“…Table 5 shows that there was satisfactory recovery for caffeine at the three concentrations investigated. Satisfactory recovery rates at high concentrations (190 ng/L) are important for caffeine, considering that higher levels of this substance are expected in Brazilian natural waters compared to the other tested analytes [ 17 , 27 , 28 ].…”

“…Descoberto Lake was previously investigated for the presence of caffeine, atrazine, atenolol, and DEET, an active ingredient in insect repellents [ 17 ]. The concentration of these contaminants varied between 2.6 (DEET) and 10 ng/L (caffeine) being considerably lower than those found in Paranoá Lake.…”

Emerging Contaminants: Analysis, Aquatic Compartments and Water Pollution

“…Other recent studies have also shown that pharmaceuticals, personal care products, industrial substances and pesticides are widely detected at concentrations of the same order of magnitude (Machado et al 2016;Hernández-Padilla et al 2017;Botero-Coy et al 2018;Gilabert-Alarcón et al 2018;Sodré et al 2018;Montagner et al 2019;Starling et al 2019). All studies concluded that these types of chemicals are persistent in the environmental compartments of Latin America; at the same time, their continuous introduction into rivers yields a complex mixture with potential synergistic effects that can result in a serious ecological risk.…”

“…A special substance in Latin America is caffeine. It is consumed by people of all ages, cultures and socio-economic status (Campanha et al 2015;Sodré et al 2018;Peña-Guzmán et al 2019;Starling et al 2019). As caffeine is present in everyday beverages such as coffee, tea, chocolate and cola drinks, a large amount of caffeine waste is generated, which enters the aquatic environment.…”