Occurrence and ecological risks of 156 pharmaceuticals and 296 pesticides in seawater from mariculture areas of Northeast China

Abstract

China is the largest mariculture producer in the world. In recent years, pharmaceuticals and pesticides have been widely used in mariculture activities; however, most studies have only focused on the occurrence of limited types of antibiotics and organochlorine pesticides. It is critical to comprehensively investigate the occurrence of pharmaceuticals and pesticides in mariculture areas and assess their potential impacts on ocean ecosystems. In this study, the occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk of 484 compounds, including 296 pesticides, 156 pharmaceuticals, and 32 other substances, in the drainage ditches of culture ponds and raft-culture areas were investigated. A total of 51 compounds were detected in the mariculture area, with total concentrations ranging from 5.4 × 102 to 2.0 × 104 ng/L at each sampling site. Eleven pesticides, three pharmaceuticals, and five other compounds were detected with detection frequencies of 100%. The cluster analysis indicated that mariculture is a source of herbicide pollution in coastal waters. To assess the ecological risks of the detected compounds, toxicity data collected from the database and predicted from quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) models were used to calculate the risk quotients and probabilistic risks. According to the risk quotients, five pollutants, including diuron, ametryn, prometryne, simetryn, and terbutryn, were estimated to pose high risks to marine organisms. The results of the probabilistic risk assessment indicated that only diuron, a biocide used in antifouling paint and mariculture, would have an adverse effect on up to 8% of the aquatic species in nearshore areas. These findings could be helpful in determining the aquatic benchmarks of pesticides and pharmaceuticals in mariculture discharge to promote the sustainable development of mariculture and ecological protection in coastal areas.