Organic Micropollutants in Wastewater Effluents and the Receiving Coastal Waters, Sediments, and Biota of Lyttelton Harbour (Te Whakaraupō), New Zealand

Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2020 Nov;79(4):461-477. doi: 10.1007/s00244-020-00760-9. Epub 2020 Oct 31.

Abstract

Coastal ecosystems are receiving environments for micropollutants due to high levels of associated anthropogenic activities. Effluent discharges from wastewater treatment plants are a significant source of micropollutants to coastal environments. Wastewater effluents, seawater, sediments, and green-lipped mussels (Perna canaliculus) in Lyttelton Harbour (Te Whakaraupō), Christchurch, New Zealand, were analysed for a suite of personal care products and steroid hormones during a 1-year period. In wastewater effluents, the concentration of methyl paraben (mParaben), ethyl paraben (eParaben), propyl paraben (pParaben), butyl paraben (bParaben), 4-t-octylphenol (OP), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC), benzophenone-3 (BP-3), benzophenone-1 (BP-1), triclosan, methyl triclosan (mTric), Bisphenol A (BPA), Estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2), and Estriol (E3) ranged from < 0.6 to 429 ng L-1 and was dominated by OP, 4-MBC, BP-3, triclosan, BP-1, and BPA. In seawater, 4-MBC, BP-3, BPA, and E1 were the most frequently detected contaminants (< 0.2-9.4 ng L-1). Coastal sediment samples contained mParaben, OP, 4-MBC, BP-3, BP-1, BPA, OMC, and E1 (< 0.2-11 ng g-1 d.w.), and mParaben, OP, and BP-3 were found to bioaccumulate (3.8-21.3 ng g-1 d.w.) in green lipped mussels.

MeSH terms

  • Benzhydryl Compounds
  • Benzophenones
  • Ecosystem
  • Environmental Monitoring*
  • Estradiol / analysis
  • Estrone / analysis
  • Ethinyl Estradiol / analysis
  • New Zealand
  • Phenols
  • Triclosan / analogs & derivatives
  • Wastewater / analysis
  • Wastewater / chemistry*
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

  • Benzhydryl Compounds
  • Benzophenones
  • Phenols
  • Waste Water
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Estrone
  • Ethinyl Estradiol
  • Triclosan
  • Estradiol
  • methyl triclosan
  • 4-octylphenol
  • oxybenzone
  • bisphenol A