Occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and their associated environmental risks in a large shallow lake in north China

Abstract

Eighteen selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), consisting of five non-antibiotic pharmaceuticals (N-APs), four sulfonamides (SAs), four tetracyclines (TCs), four macrolides (MCs), and one quinolone (QN) were detected in water, pore water, and sediment samples from Baiyangdian Lake, China. A total of 31 water samples and 29 sediment samples were collected in March 2017. Caffeine was detected with 100% frequency in surface water, pore water, and sediment samples. Carbamazepine was detected with 100% frequency in surface water and sediment samples. Five N-APs were prominent, with mean concentrations of 4.90-266.24 ng/l in surface water and 5.07-14.73 μg/kg in sediment samples. Four MCs were prominent, with mean concentrations of 0.97-29.92 ng/l in pore water samples. The total concentrations of the different classes of PPCPs followed the order: N-APs (53.26%) > MCs (25.39) > SAs (10.06%) > TCs (7.64%) > QNs (3.64%) in surface water; N-APs (42.70%) > MCs (25.43%) > TCs (14.69%) > SAs (13.90%) > QNs (3.24%) in sediment samples, and MCs (42.12%) > N-APs (34.80%) > SAs (11.71%) > TCs (7.48%) > QNs (3.88%) in pore water samples. The geographical differences of PPCP concentrations were largely due to anthropogenic activities. Sewage discharged from Baoding City and human activities around Baiyangdian Lake were the main sources of PPCPs in the lake. An environmental risk assessment for the upper quartile concentration was undertaken using calculated risk quotients and indicated a low or medium-high risk from 18 PPCPs in Baiyangdian Lake and its five upstream rivers.

Keywords: Baiyangdian Lake; Occurrence; Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs); Risk assessment.