You are here:
Pharmaceutical concentrations in Great Lakes tributaries: Chemical and site prioritization based on the ToxCast High Throughput Screening database
Citation:
Corsi, S., L. De Cicco, M. Lutz, P. Lenaker, E. Furlong, M. Noriega, Dan Villeneuve, B. Blackwell, G. Ankley, AND S. Oliver. Pharmaceutical concentrations in Great Lakes tributaries: Chemical and site prioritization based on the ToxCast High Throughput Screening database. National Monitoring Conference, Denver, CO, March 25 - 29, 2019.
Impact/Purpose:
Pharmaceuticals used by humans are introduced into surface waters via human waste-water streams. Because pharmaceuticals are designed to act on specific biological targets, they can impact the physiology of organisms that are exposed to them in the environment. Such impacts may be harmful rather than beneficial. The present study reports on monitoring of over 280 pharmaceuticals in water samples collected from 45 tributary locations around the Great Lakes. These data help to characterize the frequency and abundance with which different pharmaceuticals are detected around the Great Lakes and prioritize sites and chemicals that may warrant additional monitoring and management actions under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Description:
Water samples from 45 Great Lakes tributary locations were analyzed for over 280 pharmaceuticals. Results provide insights into the magnitude and distribution of pharmaceutical pollution across the Great Lakes watershed. Additionally, concentrations detected were compared with toxicity benchmarks based on either traditional whole animal testing methods or new approach methods employing high throughput screening of chemicals in in vitro assays. These analyses are being used as part of the Great Lakes restoration initiative to identify chemicals and/or sites of concern with regard to potential adverse effects of human pharmaceuticals on aquatic organisms and ecosystems. Great Lakes tributary monitoring results during the first six years (2010-2015) of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative indicated that the level of pharmaceutical chemical contamination in streams have the potential to exert adverse impacts on aquatic life. Subsequently, a more in-depth study was undertaken to examine potential biological effects of pharmaceuticals on fish and wildlife in tributaries of the Great Lakes. Samples from 45 tributary locations were analyzed for pharmaceuticals from an established pharmaceutical method (109 compounds) and preliminary results from a method under development (more than 180 additional compounds under consideration). Samples were collected during 2017 and 2018 to examine variability in pharmaceutical prevalence due to land use, hydrology, and season throughout the Great Lakes region. Sampling locations included very small (< 20 km2) to very large (6330 km2) watersheds with a full range of urban land cover (0-100%) and variable wastewater effluent influence (0-28% of mean annual flow). Relevance of pharmaceutical exposure to aquatic life is being evaluated by comparison to the USGS Health-Based Screening Levels for pharmaceuticals, as well as results from “high throughput” in-vitro biological assay results from the USEPA ToxCast program. Collectively, these sources include available information for about 2/3 of the 289+ pharmaceutical compounds monitored. Results will be used for screening and prioritization of chemicals and sites with the greatest potential for adverse biological impact using Exposureactivity ratios with ToxCast endpoints and toxicity quotients with other benchmarks through the R-package, toxEval. These analyses are being used as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to focus current and future investigations that will help understand likely adverse outcome pathways in organisms, and to formulate possible remediation strategies.