Occurrence and fate of triclosan and triclocarban in a subtropical river and its estuary

The occurrence of triclosan (TCS) and triclocarban (TCC) in a subtropical river (Jiulong River) and its estuary was investigated for two years. TCS and TCC were ubiquitously detected in the Jiulong River and its estuary. The levels of TCS and TCC ranged from less than the method detection limit to 64 ng/L and from 0.05 to 14.1 ng/L in the river, respectively. The levels of TCS and TCC in the estuary ranged from 2.56 to 27.25 ng/L and 0.38 to 5.76 ng/L, respectively. Temporal and spatial variations of TCS and TCC in the Jiulong River and its estuary were observed during the investigation. The weather conditions did not show significant correlations with TCS and TCC, whereas several water quality parameters showed high correlations with TCS and TCC. The microcosm studies showed that both direct photolysis and biodegradation contributed to TCS removal, whereas indirect photolysis was important for TCC removal in the surface water.