Journal
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Volume 9, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2021.801599
Keywords
antimicrobials; herbicide; aquatic toxicology; ecological risk assesment; glyphosate
Categories
Funding
- Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior-Brasil(CAPES) [001]
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq, Brazil) through a strategic grant REDES-Remediation of the Rio Doce Basin: potential of the aquatic and terrestrial biota [88881.118082/2016-01, 406190/2018-6]
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [RGPIN-2017-06210]
- CNPq
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This study investigated the presence and risk assessment of pharmaceutical products and herbicides in rivers in the Doce river watershed in Brazil. The majority of the chemicals studied were detected in the water, with herbicides being found in higher concentrations. The results highlight the need for urgent monitoring of emerging contaminants in water, as some chemicals pose environmental risks to aquatic life and humans.
This study investigated the occurrence and risk assessment of ten pharmaceutical products and two herbicides in the water of rivers from the Doce river watershed (Brazil). Of the 12 chemicals studied, ten (acyclovir, amoxicillin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, fluoxetine, erythromycin, sulfadiazine, sulfamethoxazole, glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid) had a 100% detection rate. In general, total concentrations of all target drugs ranged from 4.6 to 14.5 mu g L-1, with fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides being the most representative classes of pharmaceutical products. Herbicides were found at concentrations at least ten times higher than those of the individual pharmaceutical products and represented the major class of contaminants in the samples. Most of the contaminants studied were above concentrations that pose an ecotoxicological risk to aquatic biota. Urban wastewater must be the main source of contaminants in waterbodies. Our results show that, in addition to the study of metal in water (currently being conducted after the Fundao dam breach), there is an urgent need to monitor emerging contaminant in waters from Doce river watershed rivers, as some chemicals pose environmental risks to aquatic life and humans due to the use of surface water for drinking and domestic purposes by the local population. Special attention should be given to glyphosate, aminomethylphosaphonic acid, and to ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin (whose concentrations are above predicted levels that induce resistance selection).
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