Triclosan is an antimicrobial agent which is widely used in many personal care products. This toxic chemical is frequently found in the aquatic environment. The municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent has been reported to be one of the major sources for triclosan in the aquatic system. The aim of the present study was to investigate the accumulation of triclosan in the surface sediments near the outfalls of the five major municipal WWTPs of Nanjing, China, as well as to evaluate its potential ecological risk. The concentration of triclosan in the sediment samples ranged from 48.3 to 226 ng/g dry weight, which was well correlated with the acute and genetic toxicity by bioassay. The results suggested that triclosan released from municipal WWTPs could accumulate in the surface sediments nearby and may pose undetermined risk to aquatic organisms.
Keywords: Bioassay; Risk; Sediment; Triclosan.