Occurrence of steroid estrogens, endocrine-disrupting phenols, and acid pharmaceutical residues in urban riverine water of the Pearl River Delta, South China
Top Cited Papers
- 1 July 2008
- journal article
- Published by Elsevier BV in Science of The Total Environment
- Vol. 397 (1-3), 158-166
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.02.059
Abstract
A scoping study was conducted to investigate the residues of nineteen pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), including 4 natural and 3 synthetic steroid estrogens, 7 endocrine-disrupting phenols, and 5 acid pharmaceuticals in three urban streams and the Major Pearl River at Guangzhou, a megapolis in the Pearl River Delta, South China. Estrone was detected in > 60% water samples with a maximum concentration of 65 ng L− 1. Endocrine-disrupting phenols (nonylphenol, bisphenol A, triclosan, 2-phenylphenol, methyparaben, and propylparaben) were found to be widely present at rather high concentrations in the urban riverine water of Guangzhou. Salicylic acid, clofibric acid and ibuprofen were detected in most water samples with maximum concentrations of 2098, 248 and 1417 ng L− 1 respectively, whereas naproxen was less frequently detected and also at lower concentration. Both the detection frequencies and median concentrations of the PPCPs appeared higher during the low-flow season than during the high-flow season. The seasonal difference in PPCPs occurrence was probably attributed to the dilution effect caused by the rainfall. PPCPs in the urban riverine water of Guangzhou originated mainly from random discharge and/or leakage of municipal wastewater. PPCPs contamination in the Major Pearl River may be of a potential environmental issue, especially during the low-flow season.Keywords
This publication has 36 references indexed in Scilit:
- Temporal trends of nonylphenol and bisphenol A contamination in the Pearl River Estuary and the adjacent South China Sea recorded by dated sedimentary coresScience of The Total Environment, 2007
- Distribution and Mass Inventories of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Organochlorine Pesticides in Sediments of the Pearl River Estuary and the Northern South China SeaEnvironmental Science & Technology, 2006
- Occurrence of acidic pharmaceuticals in raw and treated sewages and in receiving watersWater Research, 2005
- Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in stormwater canals and Bayou St. John in New Orleans, Louisiana, USAScience of The Total Environment, 2004
- Non-regulated water contaminants: emerging researchEnvironmental Impact Assessment Review, 2004
- Investigating the environmental transport of human pharmaceuticals to streams in the United KingdomScience of The Total Environment, 2004
- 17-β Estradiol and 4-nonylphenol delay smolt development and downstream migration in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salarAquatic Toxicology, 2004
- Diclofenac residues as the cause of vulture population decline in PakistanNature, 2004
- Determination of Endocrine-Disrupting Phenolic Compounds and Estrogens in Surface and Drinking Water by HRGC−(NCI)−MS in the Picogram per Liter RangeEnvironmental Science & Technology, 2001
- Using faecal sterols from humans and animals to distinguish faecal pollution in receiving watersWater Research, 1996