Occurrence and multiple-level ecological risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in two shallow lakes of China

Abstract Background Management of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the environment has become a social issue. In the present study, concentrations of 140 PPCPs at 20 sites in Baiyangdian Lake and Tai Lake from 2016 to 2017 were analyzed by ultra performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometer (UPLC–MS). Risk quotients (RQ) were calculated for each detected chemical at all sites and prioritization indices (PI), based on maximum RQ, were calculated. To assess the risk of chemicals that identified high priority (PI > 1), a more accurate method of joint probability curves (JPCs) was applied. Results A total of 42 PPCPs were identified and quantified detected in the two lakes, with maximum concentrations ranging from 0.04 to 889 ng/L. Among these, seven PPCPs were identified as high or moderate-risk pollutants for at least one site, 3 in Tai Lake and 5 in Baiyangdian Lake. Carbamazepine posed significant ecological risk at all 20 sites, such that more attention should be paid to that drug. Based on results of the JPCs, sulfamethoxazole, caffeine, diethyltoluamide, and carbamazepine were categorized as high or intermediate risks. Conclusion Occurrences and distributions of PPCPs were different in the two lakes. Multiple-level risk assessment from simple to more complex was appropriate in chemical risk management.