Emerging Contaminants in the
Environment Project
Brian Katz, PhD
Research Hydrologist
U.S. Geological Survey
Tallahassee, FL 32310
[email protected]
Toxic Substances
Hydrology Program
Emerging Contaminants?
H
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W
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Human Drugs
Vet. Drugs
Antibiotics
Hormones
Steroids
Detergents
Plastics
Pathogens
P PC
P’ s
EP
OC
s
• Antioxidants
CE
C’
• Fire retardants
s
P
• Disinfectants h
AC
• Fumigants
’s
• Fragrances C
• Insecticides/ PC
’s
Repellants
• Nanomaterials
EC Project “Source-to-Receptor” Research
http://toxics.usgs.gov/regional/emc/
Sources &
Pathways
Methods
Development
Environmental
Occurrence
Transport
and Fate
Modeling
Receptors
(Eco exposure
and effects)
>130 pubs since ‘98
Chemicals of Emerging Environmental Concern
Sample Locations
>1500 Sites
>400 Streams
>1,000 Wells
>75 WWTPs
Preliminary, in preparation
National Reconnaissance Studies
- Streams (1999-2000)
- Ground Water (2000)
- Sources of Drinking Water (2001)
- Streambed Sediment (2002)
- Biosolids (2003-2005)
What have we learned?
ES&T; March 15, 2002
v. 36, no. 6, p. 1202-1211
1)
OWCs are present at low concentrations in water (ppb or lower)
2)
OWCs are present as mixtures (up to 38 compounds in 1 sample)
3)
A wide range of compounds and compound classes may be found; they reflect
the range of human activities in, and inputs to, our watersheds
4)
The compounds and concentrations detected depend on the media sampled
0%
Miconazole
Gemfibrozil
Fluoxetine
Thiabendazole
Erythromycin
Metformin
Cimetidine
Carbamazapine
Water (30)
Diphenhydramine
Caffeine
Ranitidine
Acetaminophen
80%
Diltiazem
Dehydronifedipine
Trimethoprim
Cotinine
Codeine
Sulfamethoxazole
Percent Detected
Don’t look just in the water!
Sediment (36)
60%
40%
20%
Furlong et al.
In-stream Study of ECs
Fourmile Creek (IA)
Boulder Creek (CO)
- Effluent dominated systems (WWTP discharge)
- Background data denote multiple ECs present
- Relatively small basin sizes
- Basic understanding of the flow system
- Controls present above WWTPs
- WWTPs undergoing major changes
93o37'30"
41 45'
Galaxolide in Fourmile Creek
o
93 30'
o
41 45
D
C ee
re r
ek
o
£
¤
69
"
05485600 (site 0)
Water Sediment
(μg/L)
(μg/kg)
Site 1 0.021
<25
(-0.1 km)
£
¤
931
05485603 (site 1)
05485604!#! 05485605
(site 3)
(site 2)
Ankeny
§
¨¦
35
£
¤
! 05485608 (site 4)
Site 2
(0 km)
3.1
2000
Site 4 0.7
(2.9 km)
580
Site 5 0.4
(8.4 km)
200
uc
hi
ki
no
ck
Cr
ee
k
Creek
160
M
05485610#
(site 5)
! 05485612 (site 5A)
§
¨¦
80
§
¨¦
80
§
¨¦
35
§
¨¦
235
£
¤
415
7'30"
93o37'30"
Fourmile
(site 6) ! 05485614
Altoona
£
¤
6
£
¤
65
Des Moines
£
¤
6
o
41 37'
o
93 30'
Antidepressants in Fourmile Creek
12
Concentration ng/L
10
Paroxetine
Norsertraline
Sertraline
Norfluoxetine
Fluoxetine
8
6
4
2
0
Upstream
Effluent
DownStream
S1
Downstream
S2
Antidepressants in fish
neural tissue …… at
downstream site ONLY
all units ng/g
mean, n=6
range
Fluoxetine
0.63
0.29 – 1.6
Norfluoxetine
0.87
0.22 – 2.4
Sertraline
1.5
0.99 – 2.1
Norsertraline
2.47
1.4 – 3.2
Citalopram
0.072
0.024 – 0.21
Bupropion
0.049
0.005 – 0.14
Paroxetine, Fluvoxamine, Duloxetine, & VENLAFAXINE not detected.
Linking Environmental
Contamination and Effects
On Site - uses actual
stream waters with
controlled photo-period
and temperature.
with University of Colorado
Evidence of Reproductive Disruption in Boulder Creek
Sex, in Percent
Female
Male
Intersex
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Upstream
Downstream
18-Jun-04
White Sucker
(Catostomus commersoni)
Effluent Elevates Plasma Vitellogenin
Fathead Minnow Exposure - Summer 2005
100000000
* *
* *
* *
10000000
Fathead Minnow Exposure - Summer 2006
Reference
50% Effluent
100% Effluen
Effluent Elevates Plasma Vitellogenin
7.5
*
1000000
**
**
5.0
*
100000
2.5
10000
1000
Day 7
Day 14
0.0
Day 28
Day 14
Day 28
Liver
Estrogens
Vitellogenin
Significant main effect of exposure (P<0.0001)
0%
5%
10%
25%
50%
100%
Worm Field Study
?
- Worms and soil collected twice (early and
late growing season) at 3 field sites
- worms depurated before analysis
1) Municipal biosolid
amendment
2) Hog slurry
Amendment
3) No organic waste
Amendments
Worm Conclusions
Land application of waste can transfer ECs to earthworms
- ECs were detected at low ug/kg to high mg/kg in
earthworms
- Earthworms may represent a route for ECs into food web
• Similar EC profiles in biosolids/soil/earthworms
• Select ECs detected in earthworms but not in soil
- biomagnification
Exposure to biosolid can be lethal and interfere with
earthworm reproduction
DDE: soil (5.2 mg/kg)
Harris et al. 2000
earthworm (52 mg/kg)
robin eggs(484 mg/kg)
Future Research Priorities
CAFOs
- Developing regional proposal to examine the occurrence, fate,
and effects of CAFO-derived contaminants (e.g. hormones, vet
medicines, antibiotic resistance genes, etc.)
- Phase I characterize CAFO contributions in 20-25 small
watersheds (varying animal types)
Endocrine Disruption
- Intersex fish in the Potomac Basin
- 2007 Spawning Study
male
female