Evidence of Anthropogenic Gadolinium in Triangle Area Waters, North Carolina, USA

Abstract

Gadolinium (Gd), a member of the rare earth elements (REE), is becoming an increasingly observed microcontaminant in waters of developed regions. Anthropogenic Gd anomalies were first noted in 1996 and were determined to be sourced from Gd-based contrast agents used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study investigates Gd anomalies in North Carolina’s Triangle Area, focusing on surrounding wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Samples were obtained from upstream and downstream of selected WWTPs as well as a freshwater reservoir that supplies part of the region’s drinking water. The PAAS-normalized samples indicate Gd anomalies in the influent, effluent, and downstream samples. We quantify the anthropogenic Gd in wastewater samples to constitute between 98.1% to 99.8%. Sample comparisons show an average increase of 45.3% estimated anthropogenic Gd between samples upstream and downstream of WWTPs. This research contributes to the existing database demonstrating the presence of anthropogenic Gd in developed regions. Although current Gd concentrations are not near toxic levels, they should be continuously monitored as a micropollutant and serve as a wastewater tracer.