Prioritisation of organic contaminants in a river basin using chemical analyses and bioassays

Smital, Tvrtko; Terzić, Senka; Lončar, Jovica; Senta, Ivan; Žaja, Roko; Popović, Marta; Mikac, Iva; Tollefsen, Knut-Erik; Thomas, Kevin V.; Ahel, Marijan (2013) Prioritisation of organic contaminants in a river basin using chemical analyses and bioassays. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 20 (3). pp. 1384-1395. ISSN 0944-1344

| Request a personal copy from author

Abstract

Region-specific contaminant prioritisation is an important prerequisite for sustainable and cost- effective monitoring due to the high number of different contaminants that may be present. Surface water and sediment samples from the Sava River, Croatia, were collected at four locations covering a 150-km-long river section characterised by well-defined pollution gradients. Analysis of contaminant profiles along the pollution gradients was performed by combining toxicity screening using a battery of small-scale or in vitro bioassays, which covered different modes of action, with detailed chemical characterisation based on gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and liquid chromatography/quadrupole time- of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS). A large number of contaminants, belonging to different toxicant classes, were identified in both analysed matrices. Analyses of water samples showed that contaminants having polar character occurred in the highest concentrations, while in sediments, contributions from both non-polar and amphiphilic contaminants should be taken into account. Estimated contributions of individual contaminant classes to the overall toxicity indicated that, besides the classical pollutants, a number of emerging contaminants, including surfactants, pharmaceuticals, personal care products and plasticizers, should be taken into consideration in future monitoring activities. This work demonstrates the importance of the integrated chemical and bioanalytical approach for a systematic region-specific pollutant prioritisation. Finally, the results presented in this study confirm that hazard assessment in complex environmental matrices should be directed towards identification of key pollutants, rather than focusing on a priori selected contaminants alone.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	river basin ; priority contaminants ; iIntegrated assessment ; bioassays ; GC/MS ; LC/MS
Subjects:	NATURAL SCIENCES > Geology NATURAL SCIENCES > Chemistry > Analytic Chemistry NATURAL SCIENCES > Biology > Biochemistry and Molecular Biology NATURAL SCIENCES > Interdisciplinary Natural Sciences > Environmental Science
Divisions:	Division for Marine and Enviromental Research
Projects:	Project title Project leader Project code Project type Organski spojevi kao molekulski obilježivači antropogenog utjecaja na okoliš- Marijan Ahel 098-0982934-2712 MZOS Ekotoksikološko značenje ABC transportnih proteina u vodenih organizama- Tvrtko Smital 098-0982934-2745 MZOS
Depositing User:	Marta Popović
Date Deposited:	07 Nov 2018 15:21
URI:	http://fulir.irb.hr/id/eprint/4215
DOI:	10.1007/s11356-012-1059-x

Actions (login required)

View Item