Bioaccumulation and fate of pharmaceuticals in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon: Temporal variation and impact of a flash flood event
dc.contributor.author
dc.date.accessioned
2023-04-18T10:44:19Z
dc.date.available
2023-04-18T10:44:19Z
dc.date.issued
2023-07-01
dc.identifier.issn
0013-9351
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dc.description.abstract
Coastal ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to terrestrial inputs from human-impacted areas. The prevalence of wastewater treatment plants, unable to remove contaminants such as pharmaceuticals (PhACs), leads to their continuous input into the marine environment. In this paper, the seasonal occurrence of PhACs in a semi-confined coastal lagoon (the Mar Menor, south-eastern Spain) was studied during 2018 and 2019 by evaluating their presence in seawater and sediments, and their bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms. Temporal variation in the contamination levels was evaluated by comparison to a previous study carried out between 2010 and 2011 before the cessation of permanent discharges of treated wastewater into the lagoon. The impact of a flash flood event (September 2019) on PhACs pollution was also assessed. A total of seven compounds (out of 69 PhACs analysed) were found in seawater during 2018–2019, with a limited detection frequency (<33%) and concentrations (up to 11 ng/L of clarithromycin). Only carbamazepine was found in sediments (ND–1.2 ng/g dw), suggesting an improved environmental quality in comparison to 2010–2011 (when 24 and 13 compounds were detected in seawater and sediments, respectively). However, the biomonitoring of fish and molluscs showed a still remarkable accumulation of analgesic/anti-inflammatory drugs, lipid regulators, psychiatric drugs and β-blocking agents, albeit not higher than in 2010. The flash flood event from 2019 increased the prevalence of PhACs in the lagoon, compared to the 2018–2019 sampling campaigns, especially in the upper water layer. After the flash flood the antibiotics clarithromycin and sulfapyridine yielded the highest concentrations ever reported in the lagoon (297 and 145 ng/L, respectively), alongside azithromycin in 2011 (155 ng/L). Flash flood events associated with sewer overflows and soil mobilisation, which are expected to increase under climate change scenarios, should be considered when assessing the risks posed by pharmaceuticals to vulnerable aquatic ecosystems in the coastal areas
dc.description.sponsorship
This work was supported by the Spanish Inter-Ministerial Science and Technology Commission through the ‘PLAS-MED’ (CICYT, CTM 2017-89701-C3) and PHARMASEA (PCI 2021-121,933) projects and by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). J.M. Castaño-Ortiz acknowledges the predoctoral grant from AGAUR (2019 FI_B 00881REF). M. García-Pimentel acknowledges the Spanish Ministerial Science, Innovation and University for her predoctoral fellowship (PRE 2018-085,502). The Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatograph coupled to a triple Quadrupole hybrid Linear Ion Trap Detector (Acquity UPLC-MS QTRAP 5500, Waters-SCIEX) received support from the CERCAGINYS programme, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. The authors acknowledge the support of the Economy and Knowledge Department of the Catalan Government through a Consolidated Research Group (ICRA-ENV – 2021 SGR 01282)
dc.format.mimetype
application/pdf
dc.language.iso
eng
dc.publisher
Elsevier
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Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.115887
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© Environmental Research, 2023, vol. 228, art.núm. 115887
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Articles publicats (ICRA)
dc.rights
Reconeixement-NoComercial-SenseObraDerivada 4.0 Internacional
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dc.subject
dc.title
Bioaccumulation and fate of pharmaceuticals in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon: Temporal variation and impact of a flash flood event
dc.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.rights.accessRights
info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.date.embargoEndDate
info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2025-07-01
dc.type.version
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.doi
dc.type.peerreviewed
peer-reviewed
dc.description.ods
6. Agua limpia y saneamiento