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Understanding the behavior of common ultraviolet filtering compounds under simulated environmental conditions
Citation:
Coleman, C., D. Glinski, C. Hankins, S. Raimondo, AND W. Henderson. Understanding the behavior of common ultraviolet filtering compounds under simulated environmental conditions. 2023 SETAC North America Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY, November 12 - 16, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
Stony corals are often used as proxy organisms due to their sensitivity to water quality and the decline in coral reef communities has been attributed to numerous global and local stressors such as temperature variations and anthropogenic inputs, respectively. Addressing local impacts may aid in the sustainability of coral reefs that are also being affected by global influences. Interestingly, the impacts of ubiquitous environmental toxicants on coral have been difficult to evaluate due to the lack of standardized approaches not only to test but to also interpret the causative risk of these chemicals on coral health. The ability of the US EPA to adequately evaluate the risk of UV filters on coral reef species is hindered by the challenge of obtaining, interpreting, and applying chemical effects data relevant to these communities.
Description:
Ultraviolet (UV) filters have recently become contaminants of emerging concern due to their global detection in seawater, sediments, and biota. These compounds are ubiquitously used in personal care products to prevent UV spectra infiltration, as well as in commercial products to prevent photodegradation. As usage increases, these contaminants are being detected more frequently in the aquatic environment likely after being rinsed off after application and subsequent leaching into the ecosystem. However, a knowledge gap exists in understanding how these compounds interact with aquatic organisms as research into their fate and stability in the environment is limited. This study aims to 1) assess the stability of five UV filters (avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, octocrylene, and oxybenzone) across a range of temperatures and salinity; 2) refine extraction procedures across a range of salinity, pH, and chlorination, and 3) investigate the stability of these compounds under simulated solar irradiation as individuals and in combination. To achieve this, the stability of these five compounds were monitored for 28 days, across three temperatures, and in both common analytical solvents and in aquatic environments (i.e., freshwater, marine water, and pool water). Method refinement for the extraction of these contaminants using solid phase extraction was compared following pH adjustment across all matrices. Assessing the fate and stability of common UV filters will provide data applicable to the analytical determinations of these and other class constituents in various aquatic environments. Further, data presented will inform the analytical considerations necessary for standardizing testing for coral exposure experiments currently being conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that is needed to accurately assess risk of UV filters to these marine invertebrates.
URLs/Downloads:
https://www.setac.org/discover-events/global-meetings/setac-north-america-44th-annual-meeting.html