title: The release of wastewater contaminants in the Arctic: A case study from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada.
abstract: The treatment of municipal wastewater in the Arctic is challenging due to a variety of financial, operational, climatic and technical issues. To better understand the efficacy of current wastewater treatment in this region and the hazard posed to receiving waters, we assessed the occurrence of nutrients and contaminants (i.e., pharmaceuticals, antibiotic resistance genes) as they moved through a lagoon-based treatment system in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada. Wastewater treatment in this community is performed by the use of a lagoon-tundra wetland system that is discharged into the marine environment and is representative of current common practices throughout the region. In 2014, samples were collected before and during lagoon discharge from two locations in the main lagoon, one location downstream from the lagoon effluent and three locations offshore. Grab samples were collected to measure nutrients (e.g., total nitrogen and phosphorus) and the presence of antibiotic resistance gene-bearing microbes, and Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Samplers (POCIS) were deployed to collect passively organic contaminants in all locations. A total of six pharmaceuticals were detected from a screen of twenty-eight analytes during the study: atenolol, carbamazepine, clarithromycin, metoprolol, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim. The greatest concentrations of nutrients, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and pharmaceuticals were found in sampling locations within the treatment lagoon. Offshore of the release point, we observed limited to no detection of pharmaceuticals and ARGs, but no change in total nitrogen and phosphorus from pre-release. We conclude that the current concentrations of monitored pharmaceuticals do not pose a significant hazard at this time to aquatic organisms in Cambridge Bay.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada; Escuela de Química, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago, 159-7050, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Luis G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Chaves-Barquero
authors.affiliation: Richardson College for the Environment, Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences and Department of Chemistry, The University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada.
authors.forename: Kim Hoang
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Luong
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Mundy
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, G1 1XJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Knapp
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada.
authors.forename: Mark L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada; Escuela de Química, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Cartago, 159-7050, Costa Rica; Richardson College for the Environment, Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences and Department of Chemistry, The University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9, Canada. Electronic address: wong.charles.shiu@alum.mit.edu.
authors.forename: Charles S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D061006:Bays / Q000737:chemistry*; D002170:Canada; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D020957:Nunavut; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Arctic; Nutrients; Pharmaceuticals; Risk assessment; Wastewater lagoons