Organic contaminants of emerging concern in sediments and flatfish collected near outfalls discharging treated wastewater effluent to the Southern California Bight

Abstract

To investigate the occurrence and bioaccumulation of organic contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) near four major wastewater ocean outfalls in the Southern California Bight, more than 75 pharmaceutical and personal care products, current-use pesticides, and industrial/commercial chemicals were analyzed in sediment and liver tissues of hornyhead turbot (Pleuronichthys verticalis) using gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Although most CECs targeted were infrequently detected or not detectable, triclosan, 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) and bis(2-ethylhexylphthalate) were detected in all sediments at median (maximum) concentrations of 5.1 (8.6), 30 (380), and 121 (470) µg/kg, respectively. In the liver, 4-NP and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners 47 and 99 were detected in >90% of samples at median (maximum) concentrations of 85 (290) and 210 (480) µg/kg, respectively. The sedative diazepam was detected in all liver samples, but was infrequently detected in sediments. Sediment and liver concentrations across outfall locations ranged over several orders of magnitude and were elevated relative to a reference site. Relative to sediment, accumulation in liver of PBDEs 47 and 99 was comparable to that for legacy organochlorines, confirming their high bioaccumulation potential and suggesting their inclusion in future tissue monitoring studies. Mean tissue PBDE and diazepam concentrations were higher in livers from male versus female P. verticalis, suggesting that gender differences also be considered in designing such studies.

A survey of benthic sediment contaminants in reaches of the Columbia River Estuary based on channel sedimentation characteristics

“…Concentrations of PBDEs measured in this study were on the low end of ranges measured in sediments of the San Francisco Bay, CA (Oros and Ross, 2004) and other locations in the US and Canada (Anderson et al, 2012). Concentrations of nonylphenol and diethylhexyl phthalate were comparable to those measured in the Southern California Bight (Maruya et al, 2012), while concentrations of the surfactants NP1EO and NP2EO, and the PCP triclosan were 3-25 times higher in CRE sediments measured here than measured in the Southern California Bight (Maruya et al, 2012) and San Francisco Bay (Klosterhaus, 2010). Concentrations of PCPs, fragrances, surfactants, and other industrial compounds were higher in bed sediments of tributaries to the Columbia River, but comparable to concentrations in mainstem bed sediments previously measured .…”

Sources, impacts and trends of pharmaceuticals in the marine and coastal environment

“…In some situations, gender may also influence uptake of pharmaceuticals by marine organisms. Higher concentrations of diazepam were measured in male than female Pleuronichthys verticalis (hornyhead turbot) [84]. These preferential uptakes have implications for ecotoxicological impacts and human exposure to pharmaceuticals via consumption of seafood.…”

Occurrence of PPCPs in the marine environment: a review

“…Fishes are highly mobile and may have migratory behavior (Ferreira et al 2009), thus complicating data interpretation. However, marine mammals (dolphins, sea lions, otters, and seals) and fishes (sharks, salmons, flatfish, eelpouts, and rays) were also studied in four papers (Kannan et al 2005;Maruya et al 2012;Nakata et al 2007;Rüdel et al 2006). In fish and marine mammals, liver was often sampled because biotransformation enzymes are mainly distributed in this organ (Matsuo et al 2008;Teramitsu et al 2000), while in mussels, all the soft tissues were mainly sampled, although xenobiotics are accumulated in the digestive gland, which is responsible for metabolic activity (Fasulo et al 2012).…”

“…However, harmonizing measurements during laboratory calibration is difficult , which explains why this technique is not widely used at the moment. Sediment depth sampled in the reviewed articles varied from 2 to 3 cm (Long et al 2013;Maruya et al 2012) to 40 cm (Miller et al 2008), requiring different equipment. Surface sediment was sampled using a stainless steel Van Veen type grab sampler, whereas sediment cores were sampled with gravity corers.…”