To main content

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in field sampled marine fauna in relation to sewage release from Arctic settlements

Abstract

One group of emerging pollutants that has received little attention in the Arctic is pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). The knowledge of levels and effects of PPCPs in Arctic marine fauna is limited, in particular in lower trophic levels. We have investigated the presence of contaminants in a variety of low trophic benthic and pelagic marine species collected close to a sewage outlet in Kongsfjorden in Svalbard.
Pelagic invertebrates were collected by net hauls, while benthic species were collected in baited traps. The bulk samples were sorted to species or genus before transfer to precleaned glass vials for storage at -20 °C. Samples of sewage effluent (4oo mL, 3 replicates) were collected monthly between June and September to assess seasonal variation in PPCP releases to the fjord. In addition, PPCPs in sewage effluent and seawater was sampled using ChemCatcher passive samplers with HLB membranes to obtain time integrated concentrations. All the samples were subject to solvent extraction and highly sensitive tandem mass spectrometry techniques for target analysis of persistent compounds (GC-MS/MS) and pharmaceuticals (LC-MS/MS). Targeted and non-targeted screening for a wide range of pharmaceuticals including anti-depressants, antibiotics and analgesics were performed.
Seven pharmaceuticals were quantified in several of the invertebrate species, including ibuprofen, diclofenac, ciprofloxacin and citalopram, despite very low population density in the area. In addition, screening techniques revealed several other PPCP compounds in the same samples. At the time of sampling, raw sewage was released directly to the marine environment from the small research settlement in the area, while a sewage treatment was installed later that year. The results from the initial sampling will be compared to samples collected two years after the sewage treatment was installed to investigate potential reductions in the concentrations of PPCP compounds in the marine fauna. In addition, seasonal concentrations of PPCPs in sewage outlet water and seawater will be presented for exposure assessment.

Category

Conference lecture

Language

English

Author(s)

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Ocean / Climate and Environment
  • SINTEF Ocean / Fisheries and New Biomarine Industry
  • UiT The Arctic University of Norway
  • Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Presented at

SETAC EUROPE 2021

Date

03.05.2021 - 06.05.2021

Organizer

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Europe

Year

2021

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository