Pharmaceuticals in two watersheds in Eastern China and their ecological risks

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) 2021-05, Vol.277, p.116773, Article 116773
• Main Authors: Tang, Jianfeng, Sun, Jing, Wang, Wendong, Yang, Lei, Xu, Yaoyang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: China; Cities; Ecosystem; Environmental Monitoring; Humans; Land use; Peri-urban watershed; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Pharmaceuticals; Population density; Risk Assessment; Rivers; Urban watershed; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116773

Pharmaceuticals are of increasing environmental concern due to their potential threat to aquatic ecosystems. Intensive human activities are a major factor influencing the level of pharmaceutical pollution in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the occurrence, ecological risks of 31 pharmaceuticals and the possible influence of human activities on pharmaceutical distribution in two watersheds in the Yangtze River Delta, Eastern China. The target compounds were grouped into six categories: three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ten antibiotics, six cardiovascular drugs, five hormones, six psychotropic drugs, and one antiparasitic. All target pharmaceuticals were detected in the surface water samples, with dexamethasone (100% of samples), tetracycline (100% of samples), and cefradine (100% of samples) being the dominant compounds (maximum concentrations of 686, 128, and 2280 ng/L, respectively). The total pharmaceutical concentrations were significantly higher in the urban watershed (711–2790 ng/L, mean = 1150 ng/L) than in the peri-urban watershed (467–1525 ng/L, mean = 863 ng/L) (p