Spatiotemporal distribution, source apportionment, and ecological risk of corticosteroids in the urbanized river system of Guangzhou, China

Canyuan Lin; Jian Gong; Yongshun Zhou; Diyun Chen; Yongheng Chen; Juan Yang; Qiang Li; Cuiqin Wu; Hongmei Tang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135693

Spatiotemporal distribution, source apportionment, and ecological risk of corticosteroids in the urbanized river system of Guangzhou, China

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Mar 1:706:135693. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135693. Epub 2019 Nov 25.

Authors

Canyuan Lin¹, Jian Gong², Yongshun Zhou¹, Diyun Chen¹, Yongheng Chen¹, Juan Yang³, Qiang Li⁴, Cuiqin Wu¹, Hongmei Tang¹

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China. Electronic address: gong_jian@mails.ucas.ac.cn.
³ Institute of Environmental Remediation and Human Health, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China. Electronic address: phdyangjuan@foxmail.com.
⁴ School of life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.

PMID: 31791762
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135693

Abstract

We investigated the occurrence and distribution of 24 selected corticosteroids (CSs) in the surface water of the Zhujiang River (ZR) system in Guangzhou, a highly urbanized river system receiving both treated and untreated municipal wastewater effluents. Twenty-two and sixteen CSs were detected in the tributaries and the main stream of the ZR system, and their concentrations ranged from less than the method quantification limit (fluticasone propionate) to 94 ng/L (clobetasone butyrate) and from 0.24 ng/L (cortisol) to 7.2 ng/L (clobetasone butyrate), respectively. We observed higher total CSs (∑CSs) concentrations in the tributaries (11-396 ng/L) relative to the main stream (5.5-33 ng/L) due to their proximity to densely populated residential areas. ∑CSs concentrations in the dry season were generally higher than those in the wet season due to low dilution from decreased river discharge. Principal component analysis and multiple linear regression analysis identified untreated domestic sewage to be the dominant source of CSs (t₂, contribution rate: 42.7%) in the urban rivers. Additional source contributions were from naturally attenuated treated and/or raw sewage (t₁, 21.5%) and effluents from wastewater treatment plants (t₃, 26.7%). CSs contribution was dominated by t₂ in the dry season, and the contributions from t₁, t₂, and t₃ showed no significant difference in the wet season. Risk assessment inferred that the ZR system is at medium to high ecological risk from CSs and is therefore a potential threat to the health of aquatic ecosystems. To prevent CSs pollution, our results demonstrate the need to develop effective control strategies to minimize the discharge of untreated waste to nearby rivers and to improve the capacity of wastewater treatment plants in Guangzhou. Further, we demonstrate that the concentrations of cortisone and fludrocortisone acetate are effective chemical indicators to estimate the level of natural and synthetic CSs contamination in urban rivers.

Keywords: Chemical indicator; Corticosteroid; Risk; Seasonal variation; Source apportionment; Urban rivers.

MeSH terms

Adrenal Cortex Hormones
China
Ecosystem*
Environmental Monitoring*
Water Pollutants, Chemical

Substances

Adrenal Cortex Hormones
Water Pollutants, Chemical