Spatial and seasonal variations of endocrine disrupting compounds in water and sediment samples of Markman Canal and Swartkops River Estuary, South Africa and their ecological risk assessment

Abstract

The presence of pharmaceuticals in surface water and sediment has sparked up a global concern, as they could cause harm to human health. In this study, we investigated five pharmaceuticals (caffeine, carbamazepine, sulfamethoxazole, testosterone, and trimethoprim) in surface water and sediment samples from Swartkops River Estuary and Markman Stormwater Canal, in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) systems coupled with a hyphenated quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QTOF-MS) was used for the analysis. Of the five pharmaceuticals investigated, three were detected in sediment samples at concentrations ranging from BDL – 23.86 μg/kg (dw). Caffeine and sulfamethoxazole were below the detection limit. The finding of this current study suggests that Markman and Motherwell's stormwater canals were potential contributors to pollution in Swartkops River Estuary. Ecotoxicity risk assessment indicated that trimethoprim and carbamazepine could constitute potential risk to aquatic organisms in Markman Canal and Swartkops Estuary, suggesting the need for proper control measure to prevent the pollution from toxicants in aquatic resources.