Abstract
In recent years, concern around the impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) on the environment has grown. In order to investigate the influence of tourists on emissions and ecological risk of PPCPs, the concentrations of thirty PPCPs were measured in influent and effluent from the four largest wastewater treatment plants, as well as surface river water at six sites in a famous tourist city (Sanya City, China). Substantial increasing trends on PPCPs levels were observed from low to high tourist season (ng/L to µg/L, or µg/L to mg/L). Caffeine (CAF) was dominant with concentrations as high as 185 µg/L. Emission load per capita was estimated to explore the contribution of different populations. Tourist migrant population might be a dominant contributor, as they were mostly elderly people who took long-term medication. The predicted no-effect concentration was derived using the species sensitivity distribution method to calculate the ecological risk quotient (RQ) of the dominant PPCPs. Additionally, RQs of seven dominant PPCPs in rivers were > 1, indicating high chronic ecological risk for freshwater ecosystems. The results of this study will assist in raising the awareness and improving management of emerging pollutants in less industrialized regions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and materials
The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary materials.
References
Amiard, J.-C., & Amiard-Triquet, C. (2015). Chapter 2—Conventional risk assessment of environmental contaminants. In C. Amiard-Triquet, J.-C. Amiard, & C. Mouneyrac (Eds.), Aquatic ecotoxicology (pp. 25–49). London: Academic Press.
ANZECC, & ARMCANZ (2000). Australian and New Zealand guidelines for fresh and marine water quality. Retrieved November 12, 2019, from https://www.waterquality.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/anzecc-armcanz-2000-guidelines-vol1.pdf.
Arnaud, M. J. (1993). Metabolism of caffeine and other components of coffee. In S. Garattini (Ed.), Caffeine, coffee, and health (pp. 43–95). New York: Raven Press Ltd.
Backhaus, T., & Karlsson, M. (2014). Screening level mixture risk assessment of pharmaceuticals in STP effluents. Water Research, 49, 157–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2013.11.005.
Beck, H. E., Zimmermann, N. E., McVicar, T. R., Vergopolan, N., Berg, A., & Wood, E. F. (2018). Present and future Köppen–Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution [Data Descriptor]. Scientific Data, 5, 180214. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.214.
Ben, W., Zhu, B., Yuan, X., Zhang, Y., Yang, M., & Qiang, Z. (2018). Occurrence, removal and risk of organic micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants across China: comparison of wastewater treatment processes. Water research, 130, 38–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2017.11.057.
Bowen, D., & Schouten, A. F. (2008). Tourist satisfaction and beyond: tourist migrants in Mallorca. International Journal of Tourism Research, 10(2), 141–153. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.647.
Boxall, A. B. A., Rudd, M. A., Brooks, B. W., Caldwell, D. J., Choi, K., Hickmann, S., et al. (2012). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment: What are the big questions? Environmental Health Perspectives, 120(9), 1221–1229. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104477.
Bu, Q., Wang, B., Huang, J., Deng, S., & Yu, G. (2013). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the aquatic environment in China: A review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 262, 189–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.08.040.
Bueno, M. J. M., Gomez, M. J., Herrera, S., Hernando, M. D., Agüera, A., & Fernández-Alba, A. R. (2012). Occurrence and persistence of organic emerging contaminants and priority pollutants in five sewage treatment plants of Spain: Two years pilot survey monitoring. Environmental Pollution, 164, 267–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2012.01.038.
European Commission (2018). Options for a strategic approach to pharmaceuticals in the environment Final Report. Retrieved September 20, 2019, from https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/5371e7bd-25db-11e9-8d04-01aa75ed71a1.
Dai, G., Wang, B., Fu, C., Dong, R., Huang, J., Deng, S., et al. (2016). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in urban and suburban rivers of Beijing, China: Occurrence, source apportionment and potential ecological risk. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 18(4), 445–455. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EM00018E.
Daughton, C. G., & Ternes, T. A. (1999). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment: Agents of subtle change? Environmental health perspectives, 107(suppl 6), 907–938. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.99107s6907.
Ebele, A. J., Abou-Elwafa Abdallah, M., & Harrad, S. (2017). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the freshwater aquatic environment. Emerging Contaminants, 3(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emcon.2016.12.004.
European Medicines Agency (2018). Draft guideline on the environmental risk assessment of medicinal products for human use. Retrieved September 20, 2019, from https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/scientific-guideline/draft-guideline-environmental-risk-assessment-medicinal-products-human-use-revision-1_en.pdf.
Grosso, L. M., & Bracken, M. B. (2005). Caffeine metabolism, genetics, and perinatal outcomes: A review of exposure assessment considerations during pregnancy. Annals of Epidemiology, 15(6), 460–466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2004.12.011.
Guruge, K. S., Goswami, P., Tanoue, R., Nomiyama, K., Wijesekara, R. G. S., & Dharmaratne, T. S. (2019). First nationwide investigation and environmental risk assessment of 72 pharmaceuticals and personal care products from Sri Lankan surface waterways. Science of The Total Environment, 690, 683–695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.042.
Haley, T. J. (1983). Metabolism and pharmacokinetics of theophylline in human neonates, children, and adults. Drug Metabolism Reviews, 14(2), 295–335. https://doi.org/10.3109/03602538308991392.
Hedgespeth, M. L., Sapozhnikova, Y., Pennington, P., Clum, A., Fairey, A., & Wirth, E. (2012). Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in treated wastewater discharges into Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Science of The Total Environment, 437, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.07.076.
Jjemba, P. K. (2006). Excretion and ecotoxicity of pharmaceutical and personal care products in the environment. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 63(1), 113–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2004.11.011.
Kibuye, F. A., Gall, H. E., Elkin, K. R., Ayers, B., Veith, T. L., Miller, M., et al. (2019). Fate of pharmaceuticals in a spray-irrigation system: From wastewater to groundwater. Science of The Total Environment, 654, 197–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.442.
Kostich, M. S., & Lazorchak, J. M. (2008). Risks to aquatic organisms posed by human pharmaceutical use. Science of The Total Environment, 389(2), 329–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.09.008.
Mandaric, L., Diamantini, E., Stella, E., Cano-Paoli, K., Valle-Sistac, J., Molins-Delgado, D., et al. (2017). Contamination sources and distribution patterns of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Alpine rivers strongly affected by tourism. Science of The Total Environment, 590–591, 484–494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.185.
McArdell, C. S., Molnar, E., Suter, M. J. F., & Giger, W. (2003). Occurrence and fate of macrolide antibiotics in wastewater treatment plants and in the Glatt valley watershed, Switzerland. Environmental Science & Technology, 37(24), 5479–5486. https://doi.org/10.1021/es034368i.
Mompelat, S., Le Bot, B., & Thomas, O. (2009). Occurrence and fate of pharmaceutical products and by-products, from resource to drinking water. Environment International, 35(5), 803–814. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2008.10.008.
Nguyen, H. T., Thai, P. K., Kaserzon, S. L., O’Brien, J. W., Eaglesham, G., & Mueller, J. F. (2018). Assessment of drugs and personal care products biomarkers in the influent and effluent of two wastewater treatment plants in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Science of The Total Environment, 631–632, 469–475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.309.
Ort, C., Lawrence, M. G., Reungoat, J., & Mueller, J. F. (2010). Sampling for PPCPs in wastewater systems: Comparison of different sampling modes and optimization strategies. Environmental Science & Technology, 44(16), 6289–6296. https://doi.org/10.1021/es100778d.
Osorio, V., Marcé, R., Pérez, S., Ginebreda, A., Cortina, J. L., & Barceló, D. (2012). Occurrence and modeling of pharmaceuticals on a sewage-impacted Mediterranean river and their dynamics under different hydrological conditions. Science of The Total Environment, 440, 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.08.040.
Papageorgiou, M., Kosma, C., & Lambropoulou, D. (2016). Seasonal occurrence, removal, mass loading and environmental risk assessment of 55 pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Central Greece. Science of The Total Environment, 543, 547–569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.11.047.
Sanderson, H., Johnson, D. J., Reitsma, T., Brain, R. A., Wilson, C. J., & Solomon, K. R. (2004). Ranking and prioritization of environmental risks of pharmaceuticals in surface waters. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 39(2), 158–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2003.12.006.
Shi, Y., Xu, X., Li, Q., Zhang, M., Li, J., Lu, Y., et al. (2018). Integrated regional ecological risk assessment of multiple metals in the soils: A case in the region around the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. Environmental pollution, 242, 288–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.06.058.
Shimizu, A., Takada, H., Koike, T., Takeshita, A., Saha, M., Rinawati, et al. (2013). Ubiquitous occurrence of sulfonamides in tropical Asian waters. Science of The Total Environment, 452–453, 108–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.02.027.
Sui, Q., Huang, J., Deng, S., Chen, W., & Yu, G. (2011). Seasonal variation in the occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in different biological wastewater treatment processes. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(8), 3341–3348. https://doi.org/10.1021/es200248d.
Sun, Q., Lv, M., Hu, A., Yang, X., & Yu, C.-P. (2014). Seasonal variation in the occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a wastewater treatment plant in Xiamen, China. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 277, 69–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.11.056.
Szekeres, E., Chiriac, C. M., Baricz, A., Szőke-Nagy, T., Lung, I., Soran, M.-L., et al. (2018). Investigating antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and microbial contaminants in groundwater in relation to the proximity of urban areas. Environmental Pollution, 236, 734–744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.01.107.
Tanoue, R., Nomiyama, K., Nakamura, H., Kim, J.-W., Isobe, T., Shinohara, R., et al. (2015). Uptake and tissue distribution of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in wild fish from treated-wastewater-impacted streams. Environmental Science & Technology, 49(19), 11649–11658. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b02478.
Tran, N. H., Hoang, L., Nghiem, L. D., Nguyen, N. M. H., Ngo, H. H., Guo, W., et al. (2019). Occurrence and risk assessment of multiple classes of antibiotics in urban canals and lakes in Hanoi, Vietnam. Science of The Total Environment, 692, 157–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.092.
Tran, N. H., Reinhard, M., & Gin, K.Y.-H. (2018). Occurrence and fate of emerging contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plants from different geographical regions-a review. Water Research, 133, 182–207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2017.12.029.
USEPA. (2020). ECOTOX Knowledgebase. Retrieved September 20, 2019 from https://cfpub.epa.gov/ecotox/.
Van Vlaardingen, P. L. A., Traas, T. P., Wintersen, A. M., & Aldenberg, T. (2004). ETX 2.0. A program to calculate hazardous concentrations and fraction affected, based on normally distributed toxicity data. Bilthoven, the Netherlands: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). Report no. 601501028/2004, 68 pp.
Wang, J., & Wang, S. (2016). Removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from wastewater: A review. Journal of Environmental Management, 182, 620–640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.07.049.
Wang, Y., Ma, J., Zhu, J., Ye, N., Zhang, X., & Huang, H. (2016). Multi-walled carbon nanotubes with selected properties for dynamic filtration of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Water Research, 92, 104–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2016.01.038.
WHO. (2019). Norms, standards and guidance for pharmaceuticals. Retrieved November 12, 2019, from https://www.who.int/medicines/areas/quality_safety/quality_assurance/norms_standards/en/.
Wilkinson, J. L., Hooda, P. S., Barker, J., Barton, S., & Swinden, J. (2016). Ecotoxic pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and other emerging contaminants: A review of environmental, receptor-mediated, developmental, and epigenetic toxicity with discussion of proposed toxicity to humans. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 46(4), 336–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2015.1096876.
Zhou, S., Di Paolo, C., Wu, X., Shao, Y., Seiler, T.-B., & Hollert, H. (2019a). Optimization of screening-level risk assessment and priority selection of emerging pollutants—The case of pharmaceuticals in European surface waters. Environment International, 128, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.04.034.
Zhou, Y., Meng, J., Zhang, M., Chen, S., He, B., Zhao, H., et al. (2019b). Which type of pollutants need to be controlled with priority in wastewater treatment plants: Traditional or emerging pollutants? Environment International, 131, 104982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.104982.
Funding
This study was supported by the Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (420RC673), the Academy-Locality Cooperation Project of Sanya (2019YD04), the Open Fund of State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology in China (SKLURE2016-2-6), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41701583).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
BR contributed to conceptualization, resources, investigation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, project administration, and funding acquisition. JG contributed to investigation, formal analysis, and writing—review and editing. YW contributed to formal analysis. PW contributed to conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, investigation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, and visualization.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Ethics approval
Not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ren, B., Geng, J., Wang, Y. et al. Emission and ecological risk of pharmaceuticals and personal care products affected by tourism in Sanya City, China. Environ Geochem Health 43, 3083–3097 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-00828-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-00828-y