Analyzing the impact of Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in L’Albufera Natural Park (Valencia, Spain)

The Anthropocene is the new geological epoch in which persistent changes produced by anthropogenic forces in the Earth are occurring. The global change and pollution constitute the prevalent binomial that must be studied jointly to alleviate Anthropocene effects on the most sensitive ecosystems [1, 2]. The most representative classes of emerging contaminants of human origin are pharmaceutical compounds and personal care products (PPCPs). Therefore, the purpose of this work was investigated these contaminants in a typical Mediterranean Coastal Wetland, the Albufera Natural Park (Valencia, Spain). The monitoring of occurrence and spatial distribution in different matrices, such as wastewater, water, sediment, and soil were performed. Moreover, statistical analysis of the different variables and environmental risk assessment were studied. This study was focused on 32 PPCPs of different therapeutic classes, including acid, basic and neutral compounds. The study area is a Park with 21120 ha consisting of a coast lagoon surrounded mainly by rice fields, citrus and vegetable orchard and separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a string of sand. A total of 104 samples (20 wastewaters, 19 sediment, 32 water and 33 soil) at 53 sampling points were collected. The extraction is based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) using two different stationary phases of cartridges Reversed and Polymeric Weak Cation Phase. The determination was carried out by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with a triple-quad using two precursor → product ion transitions for each compound in the multiple selected reaction monitoring mode (MRM). The concentrations of the PPCPs at the different sampling points and the different matrices were integrated into the GIS (Geographic Information System) environment to include a point layer with the location and analytical values. The results highlight the presence of many PPCPs at levels of few ng L−1 in water and few ng g−1 in soil and sediment. The spatial distribution of these compounds showed significant differences between the northern and southern parts of the park, and between the types of water and land used. The PPCPs concentration was higher in the northern area of the park, whereas the ibuprofen was higher in the south. BPA, caffeine, diclofenac, ethyl paraben, methyl paraben, metformin, tramadol, and salicylic acid were the predominant PPCPs detected in the channels and the lake and are in good agreement with those detected in the effluent. Salicylic acid (858 ng L−1) and tramadol (1264 ng L−1) were at the highest concentration in water. Ibuprofen was present at highest concentration in sediment and soil (100 and 76 ng g−1). A risk assessment based on the hazardous quotient (HQ) indicated that caffeine is a compound of concern, and tramadol at the highest concentration showed a moderate risk for the organisms assessed. These data showed the importance of improving wastewater treatments and developing new barriers to reduce or eliminate the discharges of PPCPs to protect biodiversity. The study offers an accurate overview of the current basal state of the Albufera Natural Park. References 1.Sadutto, D., et al., Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a Mediterranean coastal wetland: Impact of anthropogenic and spatial factors and environmental risk assessment. Environmental Pollution, 2021. 271: p. 116353. 2.Steffen, W., et al., The Anthropocene: conceptual and historical perspectives. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2011. 369(1938): p. 842-867. Acknowlegment: This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the project CICLIC subproject WETANPACK (RTI2018-097158-B-C31) and by the Generalitat Valenciana through the project ANTROPOCEN@ (PROMETEO/2018/155); D. Sadutto also knowledge the Generalitat Valenciana for his “Santiago Grisolía” grant “GRISOLIAP/2018/102, Ref CPI-18-118”.