Fate of pharmaceuticals in the Ebro River Delta region: The combined evaluation of water, sediment, plastic litter, and biomonitoring
dc.contributor.author
dc.date.accessioned
2023-10-11T10:56:44Z
dc.date.available
2023-10-11T10:56:44Z
dc.date.issued
2024-01-01
dc.identifier.issn
0048-9697
dc.identifier.uri
dc.description.abstract
The increasing consumption of pharmaceuticals, alongside their limited removal in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), have led to their ubiquitous occurrence in receiving aquatic environments. This study addresses the occurrence of 68 pharmaceuticals (PhACs) in the Ebro River Delta region (NE Spain), as well as their distribution in different environmental compartments, including surface water, sediments, biota (river biofilm and fish tissues), and field-collected plastic litter. In addition, their concentrations in serving WWTPs, as possible sources of environmental contamination, were also determined.
Our study confirmed the widespread occurrence of PhACs in riverine and, to a more limited extent, coastal environments. Most frequently detected PhACs belonged to analgesics/anti-inflammatories (e.g., ibuprofen) and psychiatric drugs (e.g., venlafaxine) therapeutic groups, followed by antihypertensives (e.g., valsartan) and antibiotics (e.g., azithromycin). Seasonal differences in cumulative levels of PhACs were reported for water and sediments (winter>summer). Despite spatial gradients were not clear along the river, a non-negligible contribution of upstream Ebro sites (reference area) was highlighted, which was unexpected based on the low anthropogenic pressure. Sediments represented a minor attenuation pathway for the selected PhACs, whereas they were more heavily accumulated in biota: fish liver (up to 166 ng/g dw), river biofilms (up to 108 ng/g dw), fish plasma (up to 63 ng/mL), and fish muscle (up to 31 ng/g dw).
These findings highlight the importance of biomonitoring in the characterization of polluted areas and prioritization of hazardous substances (e.g., psychiatric drugs) in aquatic systems, and a particular interest of fish plasma as non-destructive biomonitoring matrix. PhACs were also detected on plastic litter, demonstrating their role as environmental sinks for certain PhACs (e.g., analgesics/anti-inflammatories, psychiatric drugs). Overall, the widespread detection of PhACs in a variety of biotic and abiotic matrices from the lower Ebro River and Delta warns about their possible environmental implications
dc.description.sponsorship
This work was supported by the Spanish Inter-Ministerial Science and Technology Commission through the ‘PLAS-MED’ (CICYT, CTM2017-89701-C3) 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). The authors are grateful for funding from the CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya. 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
dc.relation
CTM2017-89701-C3-2-R
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Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167467
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© Science of The Total Environment, 2023, vol. 906, art.núm. 167467
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Articles publicats (ICRA)
dc.rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
dc.rights.uri
dc.subject
dc.title
Fate of pharmaceuticals in the Ebro River Delta region: The combined evaluation of water, sediment, plastic litter, and biomonitoring
dc.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.rights.accessRights
info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.date.embargoEndDate
info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2026-01-01
dc.relation.projectID
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016/CTM2017-89701-C3-2-R/ES/MICROPLASTICOS Y MICROCONTAMINANTES EN LA COSTA MEDITERRANEA. TOXICIDAD E IMPACTO AMBIENTAL Y EN LA SALUD HUMANA/
dc.type.version
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.doi
dc.contributor.funder
dc.type.peerreviewed
peer-reviewed
dc.relation.FundingProgramme
dc.relation.ProjectAcronym
dc.identifier.eissn
1879-1026