title: Electrical conductivity and emerging contaminant as markers of surface freshwater contamination by wastewater.
abstract: The use of chemical markers of undoubted anthropogenic sources for surface freshwater contamination by wastewaters was evaluated employing correlations observed between measured physico-chemical parameters as the electrical conductivity and the concentration of different emerging organic compounds. During the period from April/2011 to April/2012 spatial-temporal variations and contamination patterns of two rivers (Piraí and Jundiaí rivers), São Paulo state, Brazil were evaluated. Seven physico-chemical parameters and concentrations of different classes of emerging contaminants were determined in samples collected in seven field campaigns. The high linear correlation coefficients obtained for the compounds diclofenac (r=0.9085), propanolol (r=0.8994), ibuprofen (r=0.8720) and atenolol (r=0.7811) with electrical conductivity, also corroborated by principal component analysis (PCA), point to the potential use of these compounds as markers of investigated surface water contamination by wastewaters. Due to specific inputs, these environmental markers showed very good effectiveness for the identification and differentiation of water body contamination by discharges of treated and untreated urban sewage.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biogeoquímica Ambiental (LBGqA), Núcleo de Diagnósticos e Intervenções Ambientais (NEDIA), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de São Carlos - UFSCar, Rodovia Washington Luís, km 235, SP-310, São Carlos 13.565-905, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Diana Nara Ribeiro
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: de Sousa
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biogeoquímica Ambiental (LBGqA), Núcleo de Diagnósticos e Intervenções Ambientais (NEDIA), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de São Carlos - UFSCar, Rodovia Washington Luís, km 235, SP-310, São Carlos 13.565-905, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Antonio Aparecido
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mozeto
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Quimiometria Aplicada (GQA), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de São Carlos - UFSCar, Rodovia Washington Luís, km 235, SP-310, São Carlos 13.565-905, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renato Lajarim
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biogeoquímica Ambiental (LBGqA), Núcleo de Diagnósticos e Intervenções Ambientais (NEDIA), Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de São Carlos - UFSCar, Rodovia Washington Luís, km 235, SP-310, São Carlos 13.565-905, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: psfadini@ufscar.br.
authors.forename: Pedro Sergio
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Fadini
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Electrical conductivity; Emerging contaminants; Principal component analysis; Wastewaters