Pollution characteristics and ecological risk assessment of typical pharmaceutical and personal care products in Zhengzhou rivers
- VernacularTitle:郑州市河流中典型药物和个人护理品的污染特征及生态风险评价
- Author:
Xie WANG
1
;
Qingqing MA
1
;
Suge LU
1
;
Hongli LIU
1
;
Yongheng SU
1
;
Zhiwei HAN
1
;
Congke ZHANG
1
Author Information
- Publication Type:Investigation
- Keywords: river; pharmaceutical and personal care products; pollution analysis; ecological risk assessment
- From: Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2025;42(11):1330-1335
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
- Abstract: Background The residues of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic environments have become an increasingly prominent urban pollution issue, attracting widespread attention. The analysis of PPCPs pollution in water environments holds profound implications in Zhengzhou, a strategically important city in central China. Objective To analyze the pollution characteristics of PPCPs, such as antidepressants and antibiotics, in rivers of Zhengzhou and assess associated ecological risk. Methods Water samples were collected from three rivers of Zhengzhou, and 13 PPCPs (5 antibiotics and 8 antidepressants) were analyzed quantitatively by high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) after automatic solid phase extraction. Risk quotient (RQ) was applied to assess ecological risk of PPCPs with high concentration. Results The primary antibiotics pollutants were norfloxacin and ofloxacin, both with a detection rate of 100%. Among antidepressants, venlafaxine and citalopram showed the highest detection rates at 92.3% and 88.5%, respectively. The detected antibiotics with the highest average concentrations included ofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole with concentrations of 99.8 ng·L−1and 96.2 ng·L−1, respectively, while antidepressants venlafaxine and citalopram were detected with the highest average concentrations of 15.2 ng·L−1and 1.35 ng·L−1, respectively. The inter-river comparisons revealed statistically significant differences in contaminant loads (P<0.05). The sums of average PPCP concentrations at sampling points in the Jialu River and Suoxu River were 83.4 ng·L−1 and 100.4 ng·L−1, respectively. The Xiaoqing River exhibited higher pollution levels than both the Jialu and Suoxu Rivers, with a total average concentration of 478.4 ng·L−1, where ofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole were identified as the predominant pollutants. The results of ecological risk assessment indicated the RQ contributed by sulfamethoxazole ranged between 0.50−0.95 in the Xiaoqing River, suggesting a controllable risk but requiring prioritized mitigation strategies. The RQ values of norfloxacin were distributed within the range of 0.10-0.30, indicating a moderate ecological risk. The RQ values for ofloxacin and venlafaxine remained below 0.10, indicating a lower risk level. Conclusion PPCPs contamination is positive in the rivers of Zhengzhou, and sulfamethoxazole and ofloxacin are the primary cantaminants. The Xiaoqing River exhibits the highest pollution levels. The initial risk assessment show that sulfamethoxazole and norfloxacin pose potential ecological risks, requiring prioritized contamination management.
