A National Survey of Trace Organic Contaminants in Australian Rivers

Abstract

Trace organic contaminant (TrOC) studies in Australia have, to date, focused on wastewater effluents, leaving a knowledge gap of their occurrence and risk in freshwater environments. This study measured 42 TrOCs including industrial compounds, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals and personal care products by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry at 73 river sites across Australia quarterly for 1 yr. Trace organic contaminants were found in 92% of samples, with a median of three compounds detected per sample (maximum 18). The five most commonly detected TrOCs were the pharmaceuticals salicylic acid (82%, maximum = 1530 ng/L), paracetamol (also known as acetaminophen; 45%, maximum = 7150 ng/L), and carbamazepine (27%, maximum = 682 ng/L), caffeine (65%, maximum = 3770 ng/L), and the flame retardant (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (44%, maximum = 184 ng/L). Pesticides were detected in 28% of the samples. To determine the risk posed by the detected TrOCs to the aquatic environment, hazard quotients were calculated by dividing the maximum concentration detected for each compound by the predicted no-effect concentrations. Three of the 42 compounds monitored (the pharmaceuticals carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole and the herbicide simazine) had a hazard quotient >1, suggesting that they may be causing adverse effects at the most polluted sites. A further 10 compounds had hazard quotients >0.1, indicating a potential risk; these included four pharmaceuticals, three personal care products, and three pesticides. Most compounds had hazard quotients significantly <0.1. The number of TrOCs measured in this study was limited and further investigations are required to fully assess the risk posed by complex mixtures of TrOCs on exposed biota.

Variations in Illicit Compound Discharged from Treated Wastewater

“…Excreted as either the parent compound or as metabolites, these CECs have been reported to persist into the wider environment [2][3][4][5][6]. Wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) are generally not required to remove illicit and regulated CECs and these compounds are reported to last through the wastewater treatment process [7][8][9]. Receiving water bodies therefore can be considered to be the most susceptible environmental for contamination by CECs [10].…”

Tissue-specific uptake of the benzodiazepine oxazepam in adult Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis)

“…Owing to often high prescription rates, and limited removal of excreted bioactive forms in wastewater treatment plants, various psychiatric pharmaceuticals end up in aquatic environments. [1][2][3][4][5] There, exposure to those pharmaceutical residues may affect aquatic wildlife [6][7][8] because many biological systems (e.g. enzymes, receptors) that pharmaceuticals interact with are evolutionarily conserved across a wide range of species.…”

Predicting trace organic compound attenuation with spectroscopic parameters in powdered activated carbon processes

“…Trace organic compounds (TOrCs) comprising of pharmaceuticals, personal-care products, industrial constituents, and others are commonly detected in the aquatic environment and drinking water sources (Focazio et al, 2008;Benotti et al, 2009;Scott et al, 2014).…”