Distribution Characteristics and Risk Assessment of PPCPs in Surface Water and Sediments of Lakes in the Lower Reaches of the Huaihe River

Abstract

In order to understand the occurrence characteristics and ecological risks of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in surface water and sediments of Hongze Lake and Gaoyou Lake in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River, 43 surface water and sediment samples from 23 sampling sites were collected, and 61 PPCPs were detected in the samples. The concentration level and spatial distribution of target PPCPs in Hongze Lake and Gaoyou Lake were analyzed, the distribution coefficient of typical PPCPs in the water/sediment system in the study area was calculated, and the ecological risk of target PPCPs was evaluated using the entropy method. The results showed that the PPCPs in surface water of Hongze Lake and Gaoyou Lake were 1.56-2534.44 ng·L-1 and 3.32-1027.47 ng·L-1, respectively, and those in sediment were 1.7-926.7 ng·g-1 and 1.02-289.37 ng·g-1, respectively. The concentrations of lincomycin (LIN) in surface water and doxycycline (DOX) in sediment were the highest, and antibiotics were the main components. The spatial distribution of PPCPs was higher in Hongze Lake and lower in Gaoyou Lake. The distribution characteristics of typical PPCPs in the study area showed that typical PPCPs tended to stay in the water phase, and there was a significant correlation between lg Koc and lg Kd, indicating that total organic carbon (TOC) played an important role in the distribution of typical PPCPs in the water/sediment system. The ecological risk assessment results showed that the ecological risk of PPCPs to algae in surface water and sediment was significantly higher than that of fleas and fish, the ecological risk value of PPCPs in surface water was higher than that in sediment, and the ecological risk of Hongze Lake was higher than that of Gaoyou Lake.