Occurrence and Risk Assessment of Personal Care Products in Subtropical Urban Rivers

Abstract

Continuous release of personal care products in environmental systems provokes adverse effects in aquatic ecosystems, as result of compound-specific biological interactions and chemical activity. Such substances are classified as organic compounds and are frequently found on consumer goods used by people in everyday activities. This study investigates the presence and risks of four parabens and triclosan on tributaries of the Iguassu River, located in the south region of Brazil. Important reservoirs used for potable water consumption are in the Upper Iguassu basin. Monitoring efforts were conducted in three rivers in the form of five campaigns along 10 control sections. Compound concentrations were determined by solid phase extraction and gas chromatography hyphenated to a mass spectrometer. Estimation of environmental risk for each compound was performed employing risk indexes, considering detected concentrations for the sections, lethal and effective median concentrations (LC and EC50) for various trophic levels reported in the literature. Concentration values show clear anthropic influence, presumably from raw domestic sewage discharges or effluents from wastewater treatment plants. Annual subtropical seasonality and low rainfall rates during winter can influence and increase the detected concentrations, also influencing the hazard quotient (HQ). The environmental risk assessment reveals that HQ tends to increase along the river course. As for the sensitivity of different trophic levels, parabens tend to affect particular trophic groups, while triclosan affects all four trophic groups.