A 3-year study on occurrence of emerging contaminants in an urban stream of São Paulo State of Southeast Brazil

Abstract

This manuscript reports a 3-year study on occurrence of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and triclosan in surface waters of a central urban region of São Paulo State of Southeast Brazil (the Monjolinho River in São Carlos). Water samples collected once at every 2 months were pre-concentrated by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The most frequently detected compounds in higher concentrations were caffeine, paracetamol, and atenolol (maximum concentrations 129,585, 30,421, and 8199 ng L(-1), respectively), while hormones estrone and 17-β-estradiol were the least detected, in levels up to 14.8 ng L(-1). There was an increasing trend in concentrations of most of the compounds along the river course, especially downstream of the river where there is discharge of both wastewater treatment plant effluent and raw sewage from a particular region of São Carlos city. Concentrations of contaminants were higher during dry periods as a result of decline in the water levels. Decrease in concentrations near the river mouth occurred to different extents for each compound. It was high for caffeine and atenolol, but was very low for carbamazepine and diclofenac. The present study reports the first data about the occurrence of some major emerging contaminants in the Monjolinho River. Besides its regional significance, this work may assist in composing a dataset for water contamination diagnosis focusing on emerging contaminants, both in the Brazilian as well as in the Global studies related to aquatic ecosystems. Such datasets can be helpful for making future public policies on water quality, since these compounds are not yet legally regulated.

Contaminantes emergentes em matrizes aquáticas do Brasil: cenário atual e aspectos analíticos, ecotoxicológicos e regulatórios

“…Além destes, a progesterona e a testosterona são exemplos de outros hormônios naturais que, assim como os estrogênios, são excretados diariamente pela urina e podem ser determinados nos corpos d'água que recebem grandes aportes de esgoto doméstico. 7,9,18,[20][21][22][23][40][41][42]46,[51][52][53][54] Os estrogênios sintéticos, encontrados em produtos farmacêuti-cos, são esteróides que tiveram suas estruturas moleculares alteradas. Os principais usos estão relacionados aos contraceptivos, terapias de reposição hormonal e tratamento de neoplasias.…”

Remediation of Eutrophic Aquatic Ecosystems: Evaluation of Phosphorus Adsorption by Sawdust

“…The value found in the present work is similar to that found in the River Thames (London, United Kingdom), in which the authors described that CAF was present at the concentration of 112 ng/L (Munro et al ). However, this value is lower than those found in the Monjolinho River and the Água Quente stream located in São Paulo state, São Carlos city (Brazil) (average of 15 000 ng/L) (Campanha et al ).…”

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products as emerging micropollutants in Brazilian surface waters: a preliminary snapshot on environmental contamination and risks

“…For example, in Minas Gerais, the average concentration of 17α-ethinylestradiol in waters nearby the capital, Belo Horizonte, is 206 ng/L, considering 15 positive data (34 % of the total) 46,47 . In the region of São Carlos (São Paulo), Campanha et al 39 reported an average value of 2 ng/L for 17β-estradiol in 24 positive data out of a total of 81 (30 %). Again, these results demonstrate the great variability of Brazilian surface waters concerning their degree of pollution, certainly influenced by sewage discharges, as pointed out earlier 1,42,60 .…”