Abstract
A large variety of micro-organic (MO) compounds is used in huge quantities for a range of purposes (e.g. manufacturing, food production, healthcare) and is now being frequently detected in the aquatic environment. Interest in the occurrence of MO contaminants in the terrestrial and aquatic environments continues to grow, as well as in their environmental fate and potential toxicity. However, the contamination of groundwater resources by MOs has a limited evidence base compared to other freshwater resources. Of particular concern are newly ‘emerging contaminants’ such as pharmaceuticals and lifestyle compounds, particularly those with potential endocrine disrupting properties. While groundwater often has a high degree of protection from pollution due to physical, chemical and biological attenuation processes in the subsurface compared to surface aquatic environments, trace concentrations of a large range of compounds are still detected in groundwater and in some cases may persist for decades due to the long residence times of groundwater systems. This study provides the first national-scale assessment of micro-organic compounds in groundwater in England and Wales. A large set of monitoring data was analysed to determine the relative occurrence and detected concentrations of different groups of compounds and to determine relationships with land-use, aquifer type and groundwater vulnerability. MOs detected including emerging compounds such as caffeine, DEET, bisphenol A, anti-microbial agents and pharmaceuticals as well as a range of legacy contaminants including chlorinated solvents and THMs, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides and other industrial compounds. There are clear differences in MOs between land-use types, particularly for urban-industrial and natural land-use. Temporal trends of MO occurrence are assessed but establishing long-term trends is not yet possible.
Highlights
There has been a growing interest in the occurrence of microorganic (MO) contaminants in the last few decades within both terrestrial and aquatic environments, and in their environmental fate and potential toxicity (Halling-Sørensen et al, 1998; Kolpin et al, 2002; Kümmerer, 2009)
The purpose of this study is to provide the first national-scale assessment of MOs in England and Wales by analysing a large dataset to determine the relative occurrence and detected concentrations of different groups of compounds and whether a relationship to land-use or aquifer type could be determined using national-scale datasets, such as European land-use and UK aquifer properties manual
Groundwater samples from England and Wales were collected by the Environment Agency and analysed by their National Laboratory Service (NLS) using a target-based, multi-residue GCMS method which is semi-quantitative and screens for N800 organic compounds
Summary
There has been a growing interest in the occurrence of microorganic (MO) contaminants in the last few decades within both terrestrial and aquatic environments, and in their environmental fate and potential toxicity (Halling-Sørensen et al, 1998; Kolpin et al, 2002; Kümmerer, 2009). Potential sources of MOs to the environment are numerous. Of particular concern are newly ‘emerging contaminants’ (ECs), for example pharmaceuticals, household and lifestyle compounds, those with potential endocrine disrupting properties The term ‘emerging contaminants’ is used to cover newly developed compounds, compounds newly detected in the environment due to analytical developments and compounds that have only recently been identified as having potentially harmful effects on human health or the wider environment (Lindsey et al, 2001; Petrović et al, 2006; Richardson, 2009)
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