Ecotoxicological risk assessment of contaminants of emerging concern identified by suspect screening from urban wastewater treatment plant effluents at a territorial scale

Urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are a major vector of highly ecotoxic contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) for urban and sub-urban streams. Ecotoxicological risk assessments (ERAs) provide essential information to public environmental authorities. Nevertheless, ERAs are mainly performed at very local scale (one or few WWTPs) and on pre-selected list of CECs. To cope with these limits, the present study aims to develop a territorial-scale ERA on CECs previously identified by a suspect screening analytical approach (LC-QToF-MS) and quantified in the effluents of 10 WWTPs of a highly urbanized territory during three periods of the year. Among CECs, this work focused on pharmaceutical residue and pesticides. ERA was conducted following two complementary methods: (1) a single substance approach, based on the calculation for each CEC of risk quotients (RQs) by the ratio of Predicted Environmental Concentration (PEC) and Predicted No Effect Concentration (PNEC), and (2) mixture risk assessment (cocktail effect) based on a concentration addition model (CA), summing individual RQs. Chemical results led to an ERA for 41 CEC (37 pharmaceuticals and 4 pesticides) detected in treated effluents. Single substance ERA identified 19 CECs implicated in at least one significant risk for streams, with significant risks for DEET, diclofenac, lidocaine, atenolol, terbutryn, atorvastatin, methocarbamol, and venlafaxine (RQs reaching 39.84, 62.10, 125.58, 179.11, 348.24, 509.27, 1509.71 and 3097.37, respectively). Mixture ERA allowed the identification of a risk (RQmix > 1) for 9 of the 10 WWTPs studied. It was also remarked that CECs leading individually to a negligible risk could imply a significant risk in a mixture. Finally, the territorial ERA showed a diversity of risk situations, with the highest concerns for 3 WWTPs: the 2 biggest of the territory discharging into a large French river, the Rh & ocirc;ne, and for the smallest WWTP that releases into a small intermittent stream. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study conducted a territorial-scale ERA on CECs detected in the effluents of 10 WWTPs in a highly urbanized territory using LC-QToF-MS, focusing on pharmaceutical residue and pesticides. The results identified high risks for several CECs individually, with additional significant risks found in mixtures of CECs. The study highlighted the importance of assessing not only individual CECs but also their combined effects on ecotoxicological risks in urban streams.