Water quality criteria derivation and ecological risk assessment for ibuprofen, a common antifever drug in China

Abstract

Ibuprofen, an extensively consumed antifever drug, has been inevitably recorded in various aquatic environments in China. However, water quality criteria (WQC) are rarely derived, thereby hindering the ecological risk assessment for this emerging pollutant. This study, therefore, aims to determine the WQC for IBU by screening toxicity data of freshwater and seawater species residing in China and simulating the species sensitivity distribution curves. The ecological risk of IBU in the aquatic environment of China was subsequently assessed through hazard quotient and margin of safety at 10% methods. A total of 15 acute and 9 chronic toxicity data were collected from the literature, and the acute and chronic WQC for IBU were derived as 7.6 mg/L and 2.9 μg/L, respectively. The ecological risk of IBU was generally negligible, with 21.4% of the waters in China at low chronic risk. The long-term effects and environmental existence of IBU, however, warrant further concern considering the shortage of ecotoxicology data and the popularity of usage for this well-known pharmaceutical.