Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6320621 | Science of The Total Environment | 2016 | 12 Pages |
â¢A nationwide effort measured trace organic compounds (N = 33) in water and sediment of 42 lotic ecosystems across the US.â¢The most common compounds were caffeine, carbamazepine, cotinine, sucralose, sulfamethoxazole, triclosan, and venlafaxine.â¢Dissolved sucralose concentrations were correlated with the number of compounds detected.
We collaborated with 26 groups from universities across the United States to sample 42 sites for 33 trace organic compounds (TOCs) in water and sediments of lotic ecosystems. Our goals were 1) to further develop a national database of TOC abundance in United States lotic ecosystems that can be a foundation for future research and management, and 2) to identify factors related to compound abundance. Trace organic compounds were found in 93% of water samples and 56% of sediment samples. Dissolved concentrations were 10-1000Â Ã higher relative to sediment concentrations. The ten most common compounds in water samples with detection frequency and maximum concentration were sucralose (87.5%, 12,000Â ng/L), caffeine (77.5%, 420Â ng/L), sulfamethoxazole (70%, 340Â ng/L), cotinine (65%, 130Â ng/L), venlafaxine (65%, 1800Â ng/L), carbamazepine (62.5%, 320Â ng/L), triclosan (55%, 6800Â ng/L), azithromycin (15%, 970Â ng/L), diphenylhydramine (40%, 350Â ng/L), and desvenlafaxine (35%, 4600Â ng/L). In sediment, the most common compounds were venlafaxine (32.5%, 19Â ng/g), diphenhydramine (25%, 41Â ng/g), azithromycin (15%, 11Â ng/g), fluoxetine (12.5%, 29Â ng/g) and sucralose (12.5%, 16Â ng/g). Refractory compounds such as sucralose may be good indicators of TOC contamination in lotic ecosystems, as there was a correlation between dissolved sucralose concentrations and with the total number of compounds detected in water. Discharge and human demographic (population size) characteristics were not good predictors of compound abundance in water samples. This study further confirms the ubiquity of TOCs in lotic ecosystems. Although concentrations measured rarely approached acute aquatic-life criteria, the chronic effects, bioaccumulative potential, or potential mixture effects of multiple compounds are relatively unknown.
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