Occurrence of Pharmaceutical Products, Female Sex Hormones and Caffeine in a Subtropical Region in Brazil

Abstract

Water quality is currently a subject of increasing concern, especially because of the emerging pollutants contaminating aquatic environment. The aim of this study was to verify the presence of emerging pollutants in the Iguaçu River, from source to mouth, such as: pharmaceuticals, including acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), salicylic acid, ketoprofen (KET), naproxen (NAP), gemfibrozil and fenofibrate; female sex hormones, including estradiol (E1), ethinylestradiol (EET) and estrone (E2); UV filters, including 4‐methylbenzylidene camphor and octylmethoxycinnamate; and caffeine (CAF). The extracted pollutants were purified using solid phase extraction and then analyzed by liquid chromatography with diode array detection and gas chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry. All analyzed compounds were detected in at least one site in one sample. The analysis revealed maximum concentrations of 27.0 μg L −1 CAF, 5.17 μg L −1 ASA, 0.34 μg L −1 NAP, 0.62 μg L −1 KET, 1.42 μg L −1 E1, 1.48 μg L −1 EET, and 0.94 μg L −1 E2. The results indicated that Iguaçu river water is contaminated with emerging pollutants and nutrients and that this may be due to domestic sewage and water from tributary rivers mixing with Iguaçu river water. Statistical analysis demonstrated that the study of emerging environmental contaminants is a useful tool to determine if contamination is due to domestic sewage input once traditional physical, chemical and spectroscopic analyses have been insufficient to prove an anthropogenic influence.