Occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the surface water of Lipu River, China

Yanan Zhang; Guibin Huang; Qin Zhang; Xiaoqian Bi; Hang Chu; Zixuan Liu; Jun Luo; Shaoyuan Bai; Shengpeng Mo; Hui Wang; Mingming Fu

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.118908

Occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the surface water of Lipu River, China

Environ Res. 2024 Apr 16;252(Pt 2):118908. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118908. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yanan Zhang¹, Guibin Huang², Qin Zhang³, Xiaoqian Bi², Hang Chu², Zixuan Liu², Jun Luo², Shaoyuan Bai³, Shengpeng Mo³, Hui Wang⁴, Mingming Fu⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; The Guangxi Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology for Environmental Pollution Control, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China.
³ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Water Pollution Control and Water Safety in Karst Area, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China.
⁴ Hengsheng Water Environment Treatment Co., Ltd., Guilin, 541100, China.
⁵ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China; The Guangxi Key Laboratory of Theory and Technology for Environmental Pollution Control, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, China. Electronic address: mmfu@glut.edu.cn.

PMID: 38614197
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118908

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) are inadvertently released into the aquatic environment, causing detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystem. There is an urgent need of an in-deep investigation on contamination information of PPCPs in aquatic environment as well as the ecological risks to the aquatic ecosystem. This study was carried out in Lipu River basin, China, to investigate the distribution pattern and ecological risks of PPCPs. Results showed that PPCPs pollution is ubiquitous, 29 out of 30 targeted PPCPs were detected in Lipu River. Fourteen PPCPs were detected with a frequency of 100% in all water samples, and ten PPCPs were detected with a frequency of more than 80%. The cumulated PPCPs concentrations ranged from 33.30 ng/L to 99.60 ng/L, with a median value of 47.20 ng/L in Lipu River. Caffeine, flumequine, nifedipine, and lomefloxacin were the predominant PPCPs in study area. Caffeine showed high ecological risk, five and seven individual PPCP showed medium and low ecological risk to algae.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Caffeine; PPCPs; Pearl River; Wastewater treatment plant.