Prioritizing Pharmaceutical Contaminants in Great Lakes Tributaries Using Risk‐Based Screening Techniques

Abstract

In a study of 44 diverse sampling sites across 16 Great Lakes tributaries, 110 pharmaceuticals were detected of 257 monitored. The present study evaluated the ecological relevance of detected chemicals and identified heavily impacted areas to help inform resource managers and guide future investigations. Ten pharmaceuticals (caffeine, nicotine, albuterol, sulfamethoxazole, venlafaxine, acetaminophen, carbamazepine, gemfibrozil, metoprolol, and thiabendazole) were distinguished as having the greatest potential for biological effects based on comparison to screening‐level benchmarks derived using information from two biological effects databases, the ECOTOX Knowledgebase and the ToxCast database. Available evidence did not suggest substantial concern for 75% of the monitored pharmaceuticals, including 147 undetected pharmaceuticals and 49 pharmaceuticals with screening‐level alternative benchmarks. However, because of a lack of biological effects information, screening values were not available for 51 detected pharmaceuticals. Samples containing the greatest pharmaceutical concentrations and having the highest detection frequencies were from Lake Erie, southern Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron tributaries. Samples collected during low‐flow periods had higher pharmaceutical concentrations than those collected during increased‐flow periods. The wastewater‐treatment plant effluent content in streams correlated positively with pharmaceutical concentrations. However, deviation from this correlation demonstrated that secondary factors, such as multiple pharmaceutical sources, were likely present at some sites. Further research could investigate high‐priority pharmaceuticals as well as those for which alternative benchmarks could not be developed. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:2221–2239. Published 2022. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

An assessment and characterization of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) within the Great Lakes Basin: Mussel Watch Program (2013–2018)

“…These results indicate that PPCP chemical composition generally differed among MWP sites basin-wide, with some sites experiencing elevated contaminant exposure during the 2013–2018 study period. In addition to this study, several comparative studies have shown PPCPs are also occurring as complex mixtures in surface water (Baker et al, 2022 ; Baldwin et al, 2016 ; Blair et al, 2013 ; Ferguson et al, 2013 ; Pronschinske et al, 2022 ) and tissue samples (i.e., mussels, fish, and tree swallows [ Tachycineta bicolor ]; Banda et al, 2020 ; Cipoletti et al, 2019 ; Custer et al, 2020 ; Deere et al, 2020 ; de Solla et al, 2016 ; Woolnough et al, 2020 ) in the Great Lakes region. As shown in a previous study, the detection of these compounds as complex mixtures in the Great Lakes is of concern, due to their constituents, which were formulated to act on specific molecular targets in humans (Maloney et al, 2022 ).…”

Prioritizing Pesticides of Potential Concern and Identifying Potential Mixture Effects in Great Lakes Tributaries Using Passive Samplers

“…Thirty‐three of the 97 detected compounds—all transformation products—were not evaluated for potential biological effects or included in the mixtures analysis because they lacked screening benchmarks. Others have performed hazard assessments using other databases (e.g., ECOTOXicology Knowledgebase), quantitative structure–activity relationships, or by assuming transformation products have comparable effects as their parent compounds (Capuzzi et al, 2016; Mahler et al, 2021; Oliver et al, 2022; Pronschinske et al, 2022). However, we believe the two screening databases used in the present study were appropriate because they are from credible sources and include all of the detected parent compounds (USEPA, 2019a, 2020).…”

Assessing Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Great Lakes Ecosystem: A Decade of Method Development and Practical Application

“…In addition, exposure‐to‐activity ratios can be summed across multiple chemicals to provide a relative ranking of complex mixtures found in different sites or samples. Consequently, a computational tool for calculating exposure‐to‐activity ratios (ToxEval; De Cicco et al, 2018) was developed and has been applied in numerous prioritizations (see Baldwin et al, 2022; Oliver et al, 2023; Pronschinske et al, 2022). More recently, curated chemical effects information from the ECOTOX knowledgebase and predictions from a variety of quantitative structure–activity relationships for predicting toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation have been incorporated into risk‐based prioritization approaches (Maloney et al, 2023a).…”

“…This provides a basis for translation of the HTP information into potential apical effects in organisms in the field. Insights derived from HTPderived single-chemical data and/or direct HTP assays have been integral to interpretation of many of the field studies conducted through the GLRI-CEC work, several of which used their results to inform AOP-based predictions of effects (Alvarez et al, 2021;Ankley et al, 2021;Baldwin et al, 2022;Blackwell et al, 2017;Corsi et al, 2019;Li et al, 2017;Loken et al, 2023;Maloney et al, 2023aMaloney et al, , 2023bOliver et al, 2023;Pronschinske et al, 2022). Mosley et al (2018) describe another application of a NAM to better understand exposure and effects of complex mixtures in fish.…”