Distribution, sources and composition of antibiotics in sediment, overlying water and pore water from Taihu Lake, China

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2014-11, Vol.497-498, p.267-273
• Main Authors: Xu, Jian, Zhang, Yuan, Zhou, Changbo, Guo, Changsheng, Wang, Dingming, Du, Ping, Luo, Yi, Wan, Jun, Meng, Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - analysis; Antibiotics; China; Composition; Environmental Monitoring; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Lakes - chemistry; Porewater; Sources; Taihu Lake; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.07.114

The occurrence of 15 antibiotics classified as sulphonamides, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, tetracyclines and trimethoprim in sediment, overlying water, and pore water matrices in Taihu Lake, China was studied. The total concentrations were from 4.1μg/kg to 731μg/kg, from 127ng/L to 1210ng/L, and from 1.5ng/L to 216ng/L in sediment, overlying water and pore water, respectively. Antibiotics in different locations originated from various sources, depending on human, agricultural and aquacultural activities. Composition analysis indicated that human-derived and animal-derived drugs significantly contributed to the total contamination of antibiotics in the lake, indicating the high complexity of contamination sources in Taihu Lake Basin. The in situ sediment–pore water partitioning coefficients were generally greater than sediment–overlying water partitioning coefficients, suggesting continuous inputs into the lake water. This study shows that antibiotics are ubiquitous in all compartments in Taihu Lake, and their potential hazards to the aquatic ecosystem need further investigation. •Antibiotics are ubiquitous in sediment, overlying water and pore water in Taihu Lake.•Antibiotics in Taihu Lake originated from human and nonhuman activities.•Ksp is higher than Ksw, indicating the continuous antibiotics input to lake water.