Antibiotics in wastewater from multiple sources and surface water of the Yangtze River in Chongqing in China.

Antibiotic contamination attracts growing concerns because of their deleterious effects on the ecosystem and human health. In this study, 43 antibiotics in wastewater from a variety of sources and water of the Yangtze River in Chongqing City in western China were measured. Thirty compounds were detected, and their concentrations were highest in leachates from the municipal solid waste treatment facilities (landfills and incineration plants) with total concentrations of 3584-57,106 ng/L. The total concentrations in influents of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) were comparable (401-7994 ng/L versus 640-8945 ng/L). The concentrations in raw sewage from swine farms (with a total of 10,219-39,195 ng/L) and poultry farms (1419-36,027 ng/L) were noticeably higher than those from other farms (54.0-5516 ng/L). Fluoroquinolones were the dominant antibiotics contributing over 50% in all the sources, and sulfonamides and imidazole fungicides contributed 3.2-34%, whereas tetracyclines and macrolides had minor contributions. The overall antibiotic removal rates were highest in solid waste treatment facilities (88% on average), comparable between municipal and industrial WWTPs (61%), and lowest in animal farms (39%). The mass loads to the investigated municipal WWTPs via influent wastewater ranged from 7.80 to 1531 kg/year (53.2-2482 µg/day per capital). The influent mass loads to the industrial WWTPs and farms were 3.7-50 kg/year and 0.9-5437 g/year, respectively. We estimated that the mass inventories of antibiotics from these sources to the environment via effluent discharges were approximately 2044 kg for municipal WWTPs, 61 kg for industrial WWTPs, and 34 kg for animal farms in the whole city. Antibiotic concentrations in the Yangtze River water were substantially low (< 492 ng/L, with a mean of 57.8 ng/L) suggesting dissipation during the movement.

Short-term variability in levels of urinary phosphate flame retardant metabolites in adults and children from an e-waste recycling site.

In the present study, urine samples (n = 258) were collected from adults (n = 42) and children (n = 22) in an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling site. The concentrations and compositions of six di-esters, or the metabolites of phosphate flame retardants (PFRs), were measured at different time points on consecutive days. Bis(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (BCEP), dibutyl phosphate (DBP), bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BDCIPP), and diphenyl phosphate (DPHP) were detected in more than 50% of urine samples. The median concentrations of BCEP, DBP, BDCIPP, and DPHP were 2.43-4.80, 0.09-2.65, 0.46-0.89, and 0.66-1.83 ng/mL in adult urine samples, respectively. For children, the median concentrations of BCEP, DBP, BDCIPP, and DPHP were 1.23, 0.08, 0.06, and 0.29 ng/mL in morning urine samples, and 1.86, 0.12, 0.14, and 0.27 ng/mL in nightfall urine samples, respectively. Nightfall urine had generally higher levels of di-esters than those in morning urine for both adults and children (p < 0.05). Children had significantly lower concentrations of di-esters than adults, indicating the occupational exposure risks of PFRs for adults. Significant correlations were observed in levels of BDCIPP (3 out of 6 groups of samples) and DPHP (2 out of 6 groups of samples) in couples (p<0.05). Significant correlations between parents and boys were only observed in BCEP levels in nightfall urine samples, and in DBP levels in morning urine samples (p<0.05). The results suggest that di-ester concentrations in e-waste recycling workers are highly variable depending on the time that samples are collected, which could further influence the estimation of human exposure to PFRs.

Legacy and emerging contaminants in coastal surface sediments around Hainan Island in South China.

Emerging and legacy hydrophobic pollutants, including halogenated flame retardants (HFRs), organophosphorus FRs (OPFRs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in coastal sediments of Hainan Island, southern China, where little information is known about their contamination. The HFRs were dominated by decabrominated diphenyl ethers (median = 1.32 ng/g) and novel decabromodiphenyl ethane (1.87 ng/g). HFR and PAH concentrations had similar spatial distributions, with higher levels in the river and near the estuary. The concentrations of ∑10OPFRs ranged from 0.74 to 60.0 ng/g (median = 15.3 ng/g), displaying a different spatial distribution. ∑DDTs and ß-HCH, with median concentrations of 1.41 and 3.44 ng/g respectively, were largely from historical inputs, but use of DDT still exists in Hainan. Principal component analysis revealed the associations between most of the pollutants (HFRs, OCPs, and PAHs) and perylene, indicating that terrestrial runoff plays a significant role in their presence in the coastal sediments. OPFRs had different emission sources or entry modes to the coastal ocean.