Abstract
This study investigated the occurrence and risk assessment of ten pharmaceutical products and two herbicides in the water of rivers from the Doce river watershed (Brazil). Of the 12 chemicals studied, ten (acyclovir, amoxicillin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, fluoxetine, erythromycin, sulfadiazine, sulfamethoxazole, glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid) had a 100% detection rate. In general, total concentrations of all target drugs ranged from 4.6 to 14.5 μg L−1, with fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides being the most representative classes of pharmaceutical products. Herbicides were found at concentrations at least ten times higher than those of the individual pharmaceutical products and represented the major class of contaminants in the samples. Most of the contaminants studied were above concentrations that pose an ecotoxicological risk to aquatic biota. Urban wastewater must be the main source of contaminants in waterbodies. Our results show that, in addition to the study of metal in water (currently being conducted after the Fundão dam breach), there is an urgent need to monitor emerging contaminant in waters from Doce river watershed rivers, as some chemicals pose environmental risks to aquatic life and humans due to the use of surface water for drinking and domestic purposes by the local population. Special attention should be given to glyphosate, aminomethylphosaphonic acid, and to ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin (whose concentrations are above predicted levels that induce resistance selection).
Highlights
On the 5th of November 2015, one of the biggest environmental tragedies in the world occurred in the municipality of Mariana, MG (Brazil): the collapse of the Fundão dam, belonging to Samarco, was responsible for releasing about 50 million m3 of mining waste into the environment (Porto, 2016)
The concentrations detected were within the range of those observed in other emerging countries, the sampled waters were highly contaminated, especially by the herbicide GLY and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA)
The risk assessment analysis conducted here shows that most of the chemicals assessed are present at concentrations above the predicted no effect concentration (PNEC)(ecotox) level, posing a potential threat to the aquatic environment
Summary
On the 5th of November 2015, one of the biggest environmental tragedies in the world occurred in the municipality of Mariana, MG (Brazil): the collapse of the Fundão dam, belonging to Samarco (a joint venture of Brazilian Vale and Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton), was responsible for releasing about 50 million m3 of mining waste into the environment (Porto, 2016). The disaster, classified as very large and sudden (due to the severity of negative impacts caused), directly affected about 663.2 km of one of the most important Brazilian rivers (Doce river), which stretches between the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo (IBAMA, 2015). The spoil heaps of the Fundão dam quarry flooded the district of Bento Rodrigues, it was dammed by the Risoleta Neves hydroelectric power plant This was practically the only area of floodplain affected by the disaster. In addition to mining activities, the Doce river watershed experiences continuous discharges of untreated wastewater, as well as contamination from agriculture (e.g., fertilizers and pesticides) and inadequate disposal of municipal waste (ANA, 2015) which are inevitably reflected in the presence of these emerging contaminants in the water. We wanted to draw attention to the need to focus water investigations on the presence of novel contaminants that may affect water and environmental safety, in addition to metals
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