Aquatic ecological risk assessment of imidacloprid and thiacloprid in an urban river of Qingdao, China

Abstract

Imidacloprid and thiacloprid, two neonicotinoid insecticides that are extensively used in urban areas, are potentially toxic to non-target aquatic organisms. In this study, the concentrations of imidacloprid and thiacloprid in surface runoff after rainfall were 20.79–43.77 ng/L and 25.13–63.84 ng/L, respectively, whereas the levels for the Licun River were 10.78–41.70 ng/L and 2.66–39.68 ng/L, respectively. The acute and chronic criteria for imidacloprid and thiacloprid are 0.865, 0.006, 0.83, and 0.012 μg/L, respectively. Tiered ecological risk assessments revealed the chronic ecological risks of these micropollutants to local aquatic species. There was a moderate chronic toxicity risk associated with imidacloprid and thiacloprid in the Licun River, and the joint probability curves showed a probability of chronic ecological risk to 5 % of the aquatic organisms at 68 %–97 %. The results provide evidence of urban surface runoff transporting micropollutants from surface into rivers and estuaries, highlighting the ecological risks to aquatic ecosystems.