Urban groundwater contamination by residues of UV filters
Introduction
UV filters (UV F) are chemical compounds that mitigate the deleterious effects of sunlight on both people and goods. They constitute a group of emerging environmental pollutants, potentially hazardous compounds that have been receiving steadily growing attention over the last decade as society has become aware of the dangerous effects of UV solar radiation. These compounds are produced and used in extremely large quantities worldwide (10,000 tons annually) in personal care products as well as in many industrial goods to protect products from photodegradation. Therefore, UV F might reach the environment endangering surface and groundwater bodies, both used for water supply purposes. Thus, UV F and their transformation products has become a subject of considerable concern.
UV F are widely used not only in sunscreens but also in a large number of cosmetics such as perfumes, shampoos, creams, among others. Their frequent use promote that these compounds enter the aquatic environment continuously, by direct inputs from aquatic recreational activities or mainly by indirect inputs through sewage waters. Once discharged from industrial and urban sources, they ultimately enter surface and ground waters, as they are not completely degraded in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Therefore, these compounds may have toxic effects on both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems since many of them accumulate in fish and invertebrates [1], [2], [3]. Their potential toxicity has been assessed in several studies, indicating that the majority have endocrine disrupting capacity (including all the herein studied benzophenone derivatives and 4-methylbenzylidenecamphor) [4], [5], [6], [7]. Other adverse effects on fecundity and reproduction have also been determined in fish and rodents [6], [8]. Exposure to high levels of benzophenone derivatives UV F may be associated with oestrogen-dependent diseases as endometriosis in women [9].
UV F have been widely detected in surface waters [10], [11], [12], seawater [11], [13], wastewaters [10], [14], [15], and even tap water [16]. These compounds have also been determined at relevant concentrations in other environmental matrices as sewage sludge [17], [18], [19], sediments [20], [21], [22] and biota [3], [23], indicating that bioaccumulation of UV F is a fact and biomagnification may play an important role [3], [24]. Despite all this, to date there is no study that addressed the contamination of urban groundwater by UV F.
The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence and fate of UV F in an urban aquifer in connection with (1) the spatial distribution of UV F in Barcelona’s groundwater, (2) the depth of the groundwater sample, (3) the physicochemical properties of the target compounds, (4) the recharge sources, and (5) the redox conditions of the Barcelona aquifers. To this end, selected UV F and transformation products were analyzed in groundwater samples collected at three sites in the city of Barcelona in May and December 2010. We have selected these sampling sites because previous studies have reported the occurrence of other emerging organic pollutants such as pharmaceuticals [25] and drugs of abuse [26].
Section snippets
Site description
The study area includes Barcelona and part of its metropolitan area located in north-eastern Spain. The area is placed between the Serra de Collserola (Catalan coastal ranges) and the Mediterranean Sea (Fig. 1), both boundaries running approximately NNE–SSW. The Rivers Llobregat (SW) and Besòs (NE) constituted the other two boundaries. The climate in Barcelona is typically Mediterranean, with extreme temperatures in January and August and a yearly average temperature of 15 °C. The average
Levels and spatial distribution of UV F in urban groundwater of Barcelona
The average concentration and the maximum levels of the target compounds measured in the groundwater samples analysed and their detection frequency are summarized in Table 2a. Fig. 2 shows the measured concentrations in the observation points. No groundwater sample contained all the target compounds. Three out of the nine target compounds, namely, DHMB, BP2 and Et-PABA, were not detected in any sample. The most ubiquitous compounds were BP3 and 4MBC, with detection frequencies of 32% and 29%,
Conclusions
The present study reported for the first time urban groundwater contamination by UV F residues. The following conclusions may be drawn from this study:
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Groundwater in Barcelona aquifers contains UV F in low but measurable concentrations. Although not frequently detected, aquifers from the Besòs River Delta were found to be the most polluted in terms of UV filter compounds. This might be attributed to the fact that the River Besòs receives large amounts of WWTPs effluents. Also, they were
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the projects MEPONE (BIA2010-20244) and SCARCE (Consolider-Ingenio 2010 CSD2009-00065), and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2009-SGR-1057 and 2009-SGR-965). EP wishes to acknowledge the financial support from the AGAUR (Generalitat de Catalunya) through “the grant for universities and research centers for the recruitment of new research personnel (FI-DGR 2011)”.
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