title: Seasonal occurrence, removal efficiencies and preliminary risk assessment of multiple classes of organic UV filters in wastewater treatment plants.
abstract: Organic ultraviolet (UV) filters are applied widely in personal care products (PCPs), but the distribution and risks of these compounds in the marine environment are not well known. In this study, the occurrence and removal efficiencies of 12 organic UV filters in five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) equipped with different treatment levels in Hong Kong, South China, were investigated during one year and a preliminary environmental risk assessment was carried out. Using a newly developed simultaneous multiclass quantification liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method, butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (BMDM), 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone (BP-1), benzophenone-3 (BP-3), benzophenone-4 (BP-4) and 2-ethyl-hexyl-4-trimethoxycinnamate (EHMC) were frequently (≥80%) detected in both influent and effluent with mean concentrations ranging from 23 to 1290 ng/L and 18-1018 ng/L, respectively; less than 2% of samples contained levels greater than 1000 ng/L. Higher concentrations of these frequently detected compounds were found during the wet/summer season, except for BP-4, which was the most abundant compound detected in all samples in terms of total mass. The target compounds behaved differently depending on the treatment level in WWTPs; overall, removal efficiencies were greater after secondary treatment when compared to primary treatment with >55% and <20% of compounds showing high removal (defined as >70% removal), respectively. Reverse osmosis was found to effectively eliminate UV filters from effluent (>99% removal). A preliminary risk assessment indicated that BP-3 and EHMC discharged from WWTPs may pose high risk to fishes in the local environment.
authors: Department of Biology and Chemistry and State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors: Mirabelle M P
authors: MM
authors: Tsui
authors: Department of Biology and Chemistry and State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Department of Applied Science, Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, Chai Wan, Hong Kong, China.
authors: H W
authors: HW
authors: Leung
authors: Department of Biology and Chemistry and State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors: Paul K S
authors: PK
authors: Lam
authors: Department of Biology and Chemistry and State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: mbmurphy@cityu.edu.hk.
authors: Margaret B
authors: MB
authors: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012621:Seasons; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D013473:Sunscreening Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000295:instrumentation*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D013473:Sunscreening Agents; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: China; Organic ultraviolet filters; Personal care products; Removal efficiency; Risk assessment; Wastewater treatment