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Bioactive contaminants of emerging concern in National Park waters of the northern Colorado Plateau, USA
Citation:
Weissinger, R., B. Blackwell, K. Keteles, W. Battaglin, AND P. Bradley. Bioactive contaminants of emerging concern in National Park waters of the northern Colorado Plateau, USA. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT. Elsevier BV, AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, 636:910-918, (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.332
Impact/Purpose:
Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are a growing concern at pristine sites across the U.S., especially national parks. U.S. National Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Geological Survey developed a screening program focused within the Northern Colorado Plateau to better characterize the occurrence of CECs in national parks and monuments in this area. Over a 5-year sample period, at least one CEC was detected at most sites on over half of the sample visits, indicating that the presence of CECs is not uncommon even in isolated areas. CEC detections were generally fewer than in other regions and at lower concentrations than in urbanized watersheds. The most frequently detected anthropogenic contaminants in this study included metformin, bisphenol A, DEET, and caffeine. Potential sources of CEC contamination included upstream wastewater effluent discharges, park visitors, and NPS invasive plant control herbicide applications. Detected concentrations do not indicate an immediate need for targeted park management of chemicals or input sources beyond continued precautionary public outreach concerning resource-use ethics and the potential effects of upstream development.
Description:
The U.S. National Park Service, Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Geological Survey developed a screening program to characterize pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP), wastewater indicators, and pesticides (collectively referred to as Contaminants of Emerging Concern [CECs]) at 21 sites in eight parks within the Northern Colorado Plateau monitoring network. Over a 5-year sample period, at least one PPCP or wastewater indicator compound was detected at most sites on over half of the sample visits, indicating that the presence of CECs is not uncommon even in isolated areas. CEC detections were generally fewer than in other regions and at lower concentrations than in urbanized watersheds. Consistent with studies conducted in other regions both within and outside of national parks, the most frequently detected anthropogenic contaminants in this study included metformin, bisphenol A, DEET, and caffeine. Probable sources of CEC contamination included upstream wastewater effluent discharges, park visitors, and NPS invasive plant control herbicide applications. CEC occurrence patterns and the similarity between continuous and discontinuous flow locations suggests that direct contamination from individual visitors may occur. Detected concentrations in this study were generally several orders of magnitude below recognized levels of concern and do not indicate an immediate need for targeted park management of chemicals or input sources beyond continued precautionary public outreach concerning resource-use ethics and the potential effects of upstream development.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Bioactive contaminants of emerging concern in National Park waters of the northern Colorado Plateau, USA