To investigate the environmental pollution status of antibiotics in China on a national scale, a large number of the latest pollution data of antibiotics in water, sediment, and soil were collected, and ecological risks of antibiotics were evaluated using the risk quotients (RQs). The results showed that water, sediments, and soils in different parts of China were contaminated with antibiotics to varying degrees; antibiotics pollution of water bodies was relatively severe in the south of China but moderate in the west. The ecological risk assessment revealed that erythromycin, roxithromycin, tetracycline, colistin, sulfamethoxazole, and norfloxacin were high-risk pollutants in water, accounting for 20.9% of the total antibiotics, and were mainly distributed in Shandong, Hubei, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Guangdong, Hainan, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi provinces. Furthermore, norfloxacin was identified as the primary high-risk pollutant in river sediments, such as those of the Yellow River, Haihe River, Liaohe River, and Pearl River, accounting for 11.11% of all antibiotics. In contrast, tetracycline, tylosin, colistin, and norfloxacin were the main high-risk pollutants in aquaculture sediments, accounting for 72.5% of the total. In soil, tetracycline and colistin contents comprised a high ratio of the total amount (up to 28.6%); these were mainly distributed in Liaoning, Sichuan, Tianjin, and Shandong provinces. Relevant authorities should focus on the above-mentioned high-risk regions. This study provides sufficient scientific basis and data support for preventing and controlling antibiotic pollution in China.
Keywords: China; antibiotics; ecological risk assessment; environmental media; pollution characteristics.