[Occurrence Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Antibiotics in the Surface Water of Luoma Lake and Its Main Inflow Rivers].

The concentration levels of 39 antibiotics, including sulfonamides (SAs), quinolones (QUs), tetracyclines (TCs), macrolides (MLs), and penicillins (PLs), in the surface water of Luoma Lake, and its main inflow rivers were analyzed using SPE-UPLC-MS/MS. The contribution rates of pollution of major rivers entering the lake were analyzed, and the potential ecological and health risks of antibiotics were assessed. The results showed that ρ(antibiotics)in 42 sampling sites was between 30.10 ng·L-1 and 582.37 ng·L-1, and a total of four classes of 23 antibiotics were detected. Among them, the average detection concentration of enrofloxacin (ERX) was the highest (88.05 ng·L-1), and the detection rate of lincomycin (LIN) was the highest (100%). The average concentration of antibiotics in the northern region of Luoma Lake was higher than that in the south, and among the two main rivers entering the lake, Yihe River was the main river contributing to the pollution of antibiotics in Luoma Lake, with a contribution rate of 53.91%. The results of risk assessment showed that ERX had the largest risk quotient. For the cumulative risk quotient (RQcum), RQcum of L6, R30, R31, R32, R33, and R42 was between 0.1 and 1, which is considered medium risk, and RQcum of other points was>1, which is considered high risk. The health risk assessment of 11 antibiotics showed that the health risk quotient (RQH) of adults and children ranged from 4.16×10-6 to 2.46×10-3, and there was no health risk to the human body.

Distribution, abundance, and risk assessment of selected antibiotics in a shallow freshwater body used for drinking water, China.

With rapid improvements in industrialization and urbanization, antibiotics are now extensively used to prevent and treat human and animal diseases and husbandry and aquaculture. Some research has been conducted to assess the environmental distribution and risk level of antibiotics, but their distribution remains largely uncharacterized. Thus, this study investigated the distribution and abundance of 39 antibiotics belonging to five groups, and their associated risks in surface water around Luoma Lake in the north of Jiangsu province, China. Nineteen antibiotics were detected, at a detection frequency (DF) ranging from 2.27% to 100%. The total antibiotics (ΣABs) concentrations ranged from 34.91 to 825.93 ng/L, with a median concentration of 195.45 ng/L. Among these antibiotics, chlortetracycline (DF: 100%; median: 172.02 ng/L) was the dominant antibiotic, accounting for a median percentage of 91.0% of ΣABs concentrations. Spearman rank correlation method found a significant correlation between clindamycin (DF: 72.7%; median: 2.01 ng/L) and lincomycin (DF: 79.5%; median: 4.58 ng/L). The ecological risk quotient (RQ) values for two out of 44 sampling sites were higher than 1, indicating a high risk; 11.4% of the RQ values fell between 0.1 and 1, indicating a medium risk. Moreover, roxithromycin was found to be the dominant contributor to the ecological risk, accounting for a median of 79.7% of ΣABs. However, the total non-carcinogenic (<6.54 × 10-4) and carcinogenic risks (<1.64 × 10-7) of ΣABs were negligible at the detected concentrations.

[Pollution Characteristics and Health Risk Assessment of VOCs Fugitively Emitted from Typical Brewers].

Food processing plants are an important industrial source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Research on the unorganized emissions of VOCs to the surrounding environment from food processing plants is still quite scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the concentration characteristics, odor pollution, and health risk of the VOCs fugitively emitted from the brewing industry. The concentration characteristics of VOCs fugitively emitted from a typical vinegar factory and a typical distillery were detected via portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The thresholds of the diluted multiple and sensory methods were also used for analyzing the VOCs. In addition, the assessment of health risk was conducted according to the US EPA evaluation model. The results show that the concentrations of the total VOCs emitted from the vinegar factory and the distillery were 0.968 mg·m-3 and 0.293 mg·m-3, respectively. Ethyl acetate and acetic acid were the main VOCs in the atmosphere of the vinegar plant, accounting for 76.3% and 13.5% of the total VOCs, respectively. The VOCs of the distillery were mainly characterized by ethanol and ethyl acetate, which accounted for 56.3% and 30.4% of the total VOCs, respectively. Oxygen-containing VOCs were the most important component of the studied brewing industry source. The total odor indices of the VOCs emitted from the vinegar factory and the distillery were both higher than 1, which indicates that their unorganized emission of VOCs have odor pollution to the atmosphere. The odor concentrations of the vinegar factory and the distillery were also higher than the standard limit of malodorous pollutants. The results of the health risk assessment show that the carcinogenic risk indices of VOCs were 2.45×10-6 and 5.25×10-6, respectively, which exceeded the suggested risk value by the EPA but were lower than the OSHA and ICRP values.

[Contamination Levels and Ecological Risk Assessment of Phthalate Esters (PAEs) in the Aquatic Environment of Key Areas of Taihu Lake].

To better understand phthalate esters (PAEs) pollution in key areas of Taihu Lake, water and sediment samples were collected for content analysis. The concentrations of ∑PAEs in water samples from wet, dry, and normal seasons ranged 1.6-11.2 µg·L-1 (mean:3.68 µg·L-1), nd-6.21 µg·L-1 (mean:1.3 µg·L-1), and nd-1.72 µg·L-1 (mean:0.48 µg·L-1), respectively. No differences were found between upstream and downstream samples. DEHP was the predominant component in water samples, whereas DBP exceeded the national surface water environmental quality standards. The total PAE concentration in the sediment ranged between 0.74 and 6.90 µg·g-1 (mean:2.64 µg·g-1), with DBP and DEHP the predominant PAEs. The risk quotient (RQ) results showed that DBP and DEHP contributed the most potentially adverse effects to the aquatic environment in the key areas. The contents of PAEs in sediment were all less than the ERLs, thus posing no significant threat to aquatic organisms. The overall level of PAEs in the study area was moderate compared to those in other areas, including rivers, lakes, and estuaries from cities worldwide. Industrial pollution and urban activities are the major sources of PAEs in the aquatic environment of key areas of Taihu Lake.

Identification of thyroid receptor ant/agonists in water sources using mass balance analysis and monte carlo simulation.

Some synthetic chemicals, which have been shown to disrupt thyroid hormone (TH) function, have been detected in surface waters and people have the potential to be exposed through water-drinking. Here, the presence of thyroid-active chemicals and their toxic potential in drinking water sources in Yangtze River Delta were investigated by use of instrumental analysis combined with cell-based reporter gene assay. A novel approach was developed to use Monte Carlo simulation, for evaluation of the potential risks of measured concentrations of TH agonists and antagonists and to determine the major contributors to observed thyroid receptor (TR) antagonist potency. None of the extracts exhibited TR agonist potency, while 12 of 14 water samples exhibited TR antagonistic potency. The most probable observed antagonist equivalents ranged from 1.4 to 5.6 µg di-n-butyl phthalate (DNBP)/L, which posed potential risk in water sources. Based on Monte Carlo simulation related mass balance analysis, DNBP accounted for 64.4% for the entire observed antagonist toxic unit in water sources, while diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) also contributed. The most probable observed equivalent and most probable relative potency (REP) derived from Monte Carlo simulation is useful for potency comparison and responsible chemicals screening.

Thyroid hormone disrupting activities associated with phthalate esters in water sources from Yangtze River Delta.

Thyroid hormone disrupting compounds in water sources is a concern. Thyroid hormone (TH) agonist and antagonist activities of water sources from the Yangtze River, Huaihe River, Taihu Lake and ground water in the Yangtze River Delta region were evaluated by use of a TH reporter gene assay based on the green monkey kidney fibroblast (CV-1). While weak TH receptor (TR) agonist potency was observed in only one of 15 water sources, antagonist potency was present in most of the water sources. TR antagonist equivalents could be explained by the presence of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), with concentrations ranging from 2.8×10(1) to 1.6×10(3) µg DBP /L (ATR-EQ(50)s). None of the ground waters exhibited TH agonist potencies while all of the samples from Taihu Lake displayed notable TR antagonist potencies. To identify the responsible thyroid active compounds, instrumental analysis was conducted to measure a list of potential thyroid-disrupting chemicals, including organochlorine (OC) pesticides and phthalate esters. Combining the results of the instrumental analysis with those of the bioassay, DBP was determined to account for 17% to 144% of ATR-EQ(50)s in water sources. Furthermore, ATR-EQ(20-80) ranges for TR antagonist activities indicated that samples from locations WX-1 and WX-2 posed the greatest health concern and the associated uncertainty may warrant further investigation.

[Investigation of 14 selected antibiotics in sediments of the typical cross sections of Tiaoxi River].

The occurrence and distribution of 14 selected antibiotics in sediments of the typical cross sections of Tiaoxi River were analyzed by UPLC/MS/MS. The 14 antibiotics includes tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC), chlortetracycline (CTC), doxycycline (DXC), sulfadiazine (SD), sulfamethoxazole (SMZ), sulfamethazine (SMX), norfloxacin (NFC), ofloxacin (OFC), enythromycin-H2O (ETM-H2O), roxithromycin (RTM), chloramphenicol (CPC), thiamphenical (TPC) and florfenicol (FFC). The results show that almost all sediment samples are unavoidably contaminated with antibiotics (detection frequency is more than 70%), and the dominant contaminants are TC, OTC, CTC and DXC, which range from 0.1 to 55.7, 0.7 to 276.6, 6.5 to 131.6 and 6.0 to 15.6 microg x kg(-1), respectively. The concentration of TC, OTC, CTC and DXC observed are as high as 1794.2, 9287.5, 1823.6, 1 149.5 microg x kg(-1) dry weight, in the sediments of the main stream around an outfall of a pig farm respectively. This implied that waste water discharge from animal husbandry was probably one of the main sources to the contamination of these antibiotics in the sediment of Tiaoxi River. Besides the four dominant antibiotics, sulfadiazineshould also be concerned due to its high concentration of 251.6 microg x kg(-1) in the sediment around the outfall of the pig farm.

Trace analysis of persistent toxic substances in the main stream of Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River, China.

BACKGROUND, AIM, AND SCOPE: The Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River is the downstream of the whole river, serving as an important drinking water source. Persistent toxic substances (PTS), from the industries such as automobile, textile, chemical, and electronic production, are not listed in the National Standard yet and not monitored and controlled. However, pollution of PTS can threaten the environment and human health. In order to understand the pollution status of the PTS contamination and recommend future rationalization of countermeasure, the PTS including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), and phthalates (PAEs) were investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples were collected at 15 sites from five main stream sections of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province. PTS were extracted using solid phase extract method. The analysis of OCPs, PCBs was performed using GC/ECD and PAHs, PAEs was performed by GC/MS. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS: The method detection limits are low and the recoveries are from 58.1% to 110.3%. The total concentrations of OCPs, PCBs, PAHs, and PAEs were 0.27∼2.15 ng l(-1), <0.21∼44.4 ng l(-1), 0.012∼3.576 µg l(-1) and 0.178∼1.474 µg l(-1), respectively. γ-HCH, PCB28, PCB101, phenanthrene, anthracene, di-n-butyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate are the major detected PTS. The concentration of most of the PTS was below the environmental quality standards for surface water of China. CONCLUSIONS: The pollution status of OCPs, PCBs, PAHs, and PAEs were analyzed. PTS contamination levels of the five main stream sections were relatively low.

[Toxicity evaluation of sewage treatment plant effluent of chemical industrial park along the Yangtze River on rat testicular germ cells in vitro].

By using rat testicular germ cells in vitro toxicity testing method based on original cells culture, the reproduction toxicity of sewage treatment plant effluent of Chemical Industrial Park along the Yangtze River was evaluated, through cells changes in morphologic, activity and viability parameters. The results showed that both of the effluents from new developed Chemical Industrial Park A and provincial Chemical Industrial Park B contain reproductive toxic substances. The toxicity of Park A has more significant undergone changes in cells activity of sertoli cells (p < 0.01), spermatogenic cells (p < 0.05) and leyding cells (p < 0.05), lactate dehydrogenase activity (p < 0.01) and testosterone secretion (p < 0.01) than that of Park B. Sepermatogenic cells are more sensitive in indicating reproduction toxicity for testicular, compared with leyding cells and sertoli cells. This study demonstrated that, as an indispensable and complementary tool for water quality assessment, rat testicular germ cells in vitro toxicity testing based on original cells culture can be used to comprehensively evaluate the reproduction toxicity of sewage treatment plant effluent, and provide prompt and useful discharge quality information.