Multimedia screening of contaminants of emerging concern (CECS) in coastal urban watersheds in southern California (USA)

Abstract

To examine the occurrence and fate of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and inform future monitoring of CECs in coastal urban waterways, water, sediment, and fish tissue samples were collected and analyzed for a broad suite of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), commercial and/or household chemicals, current use pesticides, and hormones in an effluent-dominated river and multiple embayments in southern California (USA). In the Santa Clara River, which receives treated wastewater from several facilities, aqueous phase CECs were detectable at stations nearest discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants but were attenuated downstream. Sucralose and the chlorinated phosphate flame retardants tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP), tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP), and tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) were most abundant in water, with maximum concentrations of 35 μg/L, 3.3 μg/L, 1.4 μg/L, and 0.81 μg/L, respectively. Triclocarban, an antimicrobial agent in use for decades, was more prevalent in water than triclosan or nonylphenol. Maximum concentrations of bifenthrin, permethrin, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and degradates of fipronil exceeded CEC-specific monitoring trigger levels recently established for freshwater and estuarine sediments by factors of 10 to 1000, respectively. Maximum fish tissue concentrations of PBDEs varied widely (370 ng/g and 7.0 ng/g for the Santa Clara River and coastal embayments, respectively), with most species exhibiting concentrations at the lower end of this range. These results suggest that continued monitoring of pyrethroids, PBDEs, and degradates of fipronil in sediment is warranted in these systems. In contrast, aqueous pharmaceutical concentrations in the Santa Clara River were not close to exceeding current monitoring trigger levels, suggesting a lower priority for targeted monitoring in this medium. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1986-1994. © 2016 SETAC.

Bioconcentration model for non‐ionic, polar, and ionizable organic compounds in amphipod

“…They include many pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals with potent ecotoxicological effects (de Brito Rodrigues et al 2017;Parolini et al 2017;Thorngren et al 2017;Villeneuve et al 2017;Young et al 2017). Aquatic organisms are particularly vulnerable to their presence because a number of PIOCs are detected in different water bodies and can persist through harsh treatment processes (Maruya et al 2016;Cantwell et al 2017;Sadaria et al 2017). Because amphipods occupy important ecological roles in aquatic ecosystems, further refinement of the current amphipod BCF model will facilitate the integrated risk assessment of PIOCs in aqueous environments, as prompted by increasing public understanding and legislative pressure (European Commission 2017).…”

An update of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) on systemic insecticides. Part 1: new molecules, metabolism, fate, and transport

“…In Californian watersheds, residues of fipronil and its derivatives in surface water are typically in the range 2-13.8 ng/L (Sengupta et al 2014). A survey of the Santa Clara River (California) found maximum concentrations of pyrethroids (bifenthrin and permethrin), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and derivatives of fipronil in sediment (from LOQ to 6.8 ppb) that exceeded the threshold levels established for freshwater and estuarine sediments in California, which for fipronil are established as 0.09 and 6.5 ppb dry weight, respectively (Maruya et al 2016). In a 4-year monitoring study of water quality, 60% of water samples taken from wetlands of the Prairie Pothole region of Iowa c o n t a i n e d p e s t i c i d e r e s i d u e s , w i t h h e r b i c i d e s (chloroacetanilide and atrazine) and neonicotinoids being the most commonly found.…”

Overview on legislation and scientific approaches for risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals: the potential EuroMix contribution

“…Traditionally, risk assessments are conducted on an individual chemical basis, mostly addressing one source of exposure (single chemical and one route of exposure). However, the human population and the environment are continuously exposed to a multitude of substances from different sources via different routes and duration of exposure, as has been demonstrated in environmental (Malaj et al 2014;Wu et al 2014;Maruya et al 2016) and human monitoring (Woodruff et al 2011;CDC 2018) studies. Exposure to multiple chemicals may increase health risks, relative to those of individual chemicals, due to potential combined effects, exhibited via similar or dissimilar mechanisms.…”