Predictive ecological risk assessment of pesticide mixtures in Mediterranean porous aquifers

The ecological risk assessment (ERA) of chemical substances is based on the premise that the protection of the most sensitive taxon safeguards the overall community. Given the severe scarcity of ecotoxicological data concerning groundwater species, we felt urged to consider epigean model species’ sensitivity data to determine the safe pesticide concentrations for obligate groundwater dwelling species. To this end, we performed the ERA of pesticide mixtures occurring in eleven Mediterranean porous aquifers (Abruzzo region; central Italy). The evaluation was based on data collected between 2010 and 2015 by the environmental protection agency of Abruzzo region (ARTA Abruzzo) and included 42 pesticides and 1953 samples. We applied a step-wise procedure: we used the Measured Environmental Concentration (MEC); we estimated the Predicted No-Effect Concentration (PNEC) and we established the ecological risk as Risk Quotient (RQ) based on the ∑MECi/PNECi ratio following a concentration addition model for mixtures’ toxicity. we used the Measured Environmental Concentration (MEC); we estimated the Predicted No-Effect Concentration (PNEC) and we established the ecological risk as Risk Quotient (RQ) based on the ∑MECi/PNECi ratio following a concentration addition model for mixtures’ toxicity. The PNEC was regarded as the concentration below which a harmful effect will most likely not occur to the groundwater dwelling fauna. The toxicity data used to compute the PNEC values were obtained from the US. EPA ECOTOX database confining the search to epigean crustaceans. Missing toxicity data were estimated by ECOSAR v.1.11. PNEC values were calculated by dividing the lowest short-term L(E)C50 value (that refers to the concentration at which 50% of its maximal effect was observed in test species) by appropriate assessment factors (AF). The AF values were selected according to the difference in the sensitivities of groundwater and epigean crustaceans derived from the available studies. Groundwater crustacean species were generally less sensitive to acute exposure to chemicals than the model species Daphnia magna. However, they were more sensitive than their epigean relatives when the comparisons were made among organisms sharing the same family/order. This result suggests caution when inferring the sensitivity of groundwater species from that of epigean taxa. The ecological risk was scored using a binary ecological classification suggesting that appreciable risk is likely when RQ≥1. Pesticide mixture risks were often driven by a minimum of 2 to 11 compounds in the eleven aquifers of Abruzzo region. However, the risk-drivers (i.e., individual pesticides explaining the largest share of potential effects) differed substantially among the aquifers. The results of this study have been published by Di Lorenzo et al. (2018).

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Pesticide mixtures in the Swedish streams: environmental risks, contributions of individual compounds and consequences of single-substance oriented risk mitigation

10.7287/peerj.preprints.2779 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Mikael B Gustavsson ◽

Jenny Kreuger ◽

Mirco Bundschuh ◽

Thomas Backhaus

Keyword(s):

Environmental Risk ◽

Risk Mitigation ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Concentration Addition ◽

Risk Quotient ◽

Worst Case ◽

Pesticide Mixture ◽

Pesticide Mixtures ◽

Single Substance ◽

Kaplan Meier

This paper presents the ecotoxicological assessment and environmental risk evaluation of complex pesticide mixtures occurring in freshwater ecosystems in southern Sweden. The evaluation is based on exposure data collected between 2002 and 2013 by the Swedish pesticide monitoring program and includes 1308 individual samples, detecting mixtures of up to 53 pesticides (modal=8). Pesticide mixture risks were evaluated using three different scenarios for non-detects (best-case, worst-case and using the Kaplan-Meier method). The risk of each scenario was analyzed using Swedish Water Quality Objectives (WQO) and throphic-level specific environmental thresholds. Using the Kaplan-Meier method the environmental risk of 73% of the samples exceeded acceptable levels, based on an assessment using Concentration-Addition and WQOs for the individual pesticides. Algae were the most sensitive organism group. However, analytical detection limits, especially for insecticides, were insufficient to analyze concentrations at or near their WQO’s. Thus, the risk of the analyzed pesticide mixtures to crustaceans and fish is systematically underestimated. Treating non-detects as being present at their individual limit of detection increased the estimated risk by a factor 100 or more, compared to the best-case or the Kaplan-Meier scenario. Pesticide mixture risks are often driven by only 1-3 compounds. However, the risk-drivers (i.e., individual pesticides explaining the largest share of potential effects) differ substantially between sites and samples, and 83 of the 141 monitored pesticides need to be included in the assessment to account for 95% of the risk at all sites and years. Single-substance oriented risk mitigation measures that would ensure that each individual pesticide is present at a maximum of 95% of its individual WQO, would also reduce the mixture risk, but only from a median risk quotient of 2.1 to a median risk quotient of 1.8. Also, acceptable total risk levels would still be exceeded in more than 70% of the samples.

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Pesticide mixtures in the Swedish streams: environmental risks, contributions of individual compounds and consequences of single-substance oriented risk mitigation

10.7287/peerj.preprints.2779v1 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Mikael B Gustavsson ◽

Jenny Kreuger ◽

Mirco Bundschuh ◽

Thomas Backhaus

Keyword(s):

Environmental Risk ◽

Risk Mitigation ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Concentration Addition ◽

Total Risk ◽

Risk Quotient ◽

Pesticide Mixtures ◽

Single Substance

The paper presents the ecotoxicological assessment and environmental risk evaluation of complex pesticide mixtures occurring in freshwater ecosystems in southern Sweden. The evaluation is based on the data collected between 2002 and 2013 by the Swedish pesticide monitoring program and includes 1308 individual samples, detecting mixtures of up to 54 pesticides (modal=8). The environmental risk of 77% of the samples exceeded acceptable levels, based on an assessment using Concentration-Addition and Swedish Water Quality Objectives (WQO) for the individual pesticides. Algae were the most sensitive organism group. However, the analytical detection limits, especially for insecticides, are currently insufficient to analyze concentrations at or near their WQO’s. Thus, the risk of the analyzed pesticide mixtures to crustaceans and fish is currently systematically underestimated. Throughout the monitoring the risk associated with pesticide mixtures is often driven by only 1-3 compounds. However, the risk-drivers differ substantially between sites and samples, so that 83 of the 141 monitored pesticides need to be included in the assessment to account for 95% of the risk at all sites and years. Single-substance oriented risk mitigation measures that would ensure that each individual pesticide is present at 95% of its individual WQO at maximum, would also reduce the mixture risk, from a median risk quotient of 2.7 to a median risk quotient of 2.3. However, acceptable total risk levels would still be exceeded in more than 70% of the samples.

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Pesticide mixtures in the Swedish streams: environmental risks, contributions of individual compounds and consequences of single-substance oriented risk mitigation

10.7287/peerj.preprints.2779v2 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Mikael B Gustavsson ◽

Jenny Kreuger ◽

Mirco Bundschuh ◽

Thomas Backhaus

Keyword(s):

Environmental Risk ◽

Risk Mitigation ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Concentration Addition ◽

Risk Quotient ◽

Worst Case ◽

Pesticide Mixture ◽

Pesticide Mixtures ◽

Single Substance ◽

Kaplan Meier

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Insight Into The Aquatic Toxicity And Ecological Risk of Bisphenol B, And Comparison With That of Bisphenol A

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1046125/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yue Wang ◽

Tianyi Zhao ◽

Xianhai Yang ◽

Huihui Liu

Keyword(s):

Bisphenol A ◽

Daphnia Magna ◽

Ecological Risk ◽

Aquatic Toxicity ◽

Aquatic Organisms ◽

The Body ◽

Risk Quotient ◽

Effect Concentration ◽

Detectable Rate ◽

Insight Into

Abstract As one of the alternatives of 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane (bisphenol A, BPA), 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)butane (bisphenol B, BPB) has not gained sufficient concerns so far, due to the limited concentration and toxicity data available. In this study, the acute toxicity of BPB to three aquatic organisms, i.e., Tetradesmus obliquus, Daphnia magna and Danio rerio, was investigated, and it showed that Daphnia magna was the most sensitive organism with the half effective concentration (EC50) of 3.93 mg/L. Thereout, the screened Daphnia magna was exposed to BPB for 21 days to explore the chronic toxicity. Results indicated that BPB restricted the body length of parent Daphnia magna and reduced the total number of broods and neonates. The no-observed effect concentration of BPB to Daphnia magna was as low as 0.01 mg/L, which was two orders of magnitude lower than that reported 0.86–5.00 mg/L of BPA. Furthermore, the ecological risk of BPB was quantitatively assessed using the risk quotient (RQ) method. Obviously, although the environmental concentrations and detectable rate of BPB were much lower than that of BPA, its ecological risk was not necessarily lower. Hence, BPB should not be ignored in the future environmental monitoring and management.

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A Novel Approach to Derive the Predicted No-Effect Concentration (PNEC) of Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) Using the Species Sensitivity Distribution (SSD) Method: Suggestion of a New PNEC Value for BP-3

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18073650 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 3650

Author(s):

Jae-Woong Jung ◽

Jae Soon Kang ◽

Jinsoo Choi ◽

June-Woo Park

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Ecological Risk ◽

Ecological Risk Assessment ◽

Initial Step ◽

Species Sensitivity Distribution ◽

Species Sensitivity ◽

Environmental Concentration ◽

Sensitivity Distribution ◽

Detection Frequency ◽

Effect Concentration

The necessity for the aquatic ecological risk assessment for benzophenone-3 (BP-3) is increasing due to its high toxic potential and high detection frequency in freshwater. The initial step in the ecological risk assessment is to determine predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC). This study derived PNEC of BP-3 in freshwater using a species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach, whilst existing PNECs are derived using assessment factor (AF) approaches. A total of eight chronic toxicity values, obtained by toxicity testing and a literature survey, covering four taxonomic classes (fish, crustaceans, algae, and cyanobacteria) were used for PNEC derivation. Therefore, the quantity and quality of the toxicity data met the minimum requirements for PNEC derivation using an SSD approach. The PNEC derived in this study (73.3 μg/L) was far higher than the environmental concentration detected in freshwater (up to 10.4 μg/L) as well as existing PNECs (0.67~1.8 μg/L), mainly due to the difference in the PNEC derivation methodology (i.e., AF vs. SSD approach). Since the SSD approach is regarded as more reliable than the AF approach, we recommend applying the PNEC value derived in this study for the aquatic ecological risk assessment of BP-3, as the use of the existing PNEC values seems to unnecessarily overestimate the potential ecological risk of BP-3 in freshwater.

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Environmental Risk of Pesticides for Fish in Small- and Medium-Sized Streams of Switzerland

Toxics ◽

10.3390/toxics9040079 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 79

Author(s):

Inge Werner ◽

Anke Schneeweiss ◽

Helmut Segner ◽

Marion Junghans

Keyword(s):

Life History Traits ◽

Sublethal Effects ◽

Toxicity Data ◽

Laboratory Studies ◽

Fish Health ◽

Model Species ◽

Pyrethroid Insecticides ◽

Relative Contribution ◽

Single Substance ◽

Chronic Risk

This study assessed the acute and chronic risk of pesticides, singly and as mixtures, for fish using comprehensive chemical data of four monitoring studies conducted in small- and medium-sized streams of Switzerland between 2012 and 2018. Pesticides were ranked based on single substance risk quotients and relative contribution to mixture risk. Concentrations of the pyrethroid insecticides, λ-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin and deltamethrin, and the fungicides, carbendazim and fenpropimorph, posed acute or chronic single substance risks. Risk quotients of eighteen additional pesticides were equal or greater than 0.1, and thirteen of those contributed ≥30% to mixture risk. Relatively few substances dominated the mixture risk in most water samples, with chronic and acute maximum cumulative ratios never exceeding 5 and 7, respectively. A literature review of toxicity data showed that concentrations of several pesticides detected in Swiss streams were sufficient to cause direct sublethal effects on fish in laboratory studies. Based on the results of our study, we conclude that pesticides detected in Swiss streams, especially pyrethroid insecticides, fungicides and pesticide mixtures, pose a risk to fish health and can cause direct sublethal effects at environmental concentrations. Sensitive life stages of species with highly specialized life history traits may be particularly vulnerable; however, the lack of toxicity data for non-model species currently prevents a conclusive assessment across species.

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Deterministic Assessment of the Risk of Phthalate Esters in Sediments of U-Tapao Canal, Southern Thailand

Toxics ◽

10.3390/toxics8040093 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 93

Author(s):

Okpara Kingsley ◽

Banchong Witthayawirasak

Keyword(s):

Ecological Risk ◽

Total Concentration ◽

Phthalate Esters ◽

Sediment Quality ◽

Potential Ecological Risk ◽

Concentration Addition ◽

Sediment Samples ◽

Mixture Effects ◽

Quality Guidelines ◽

Southern Thailand

This baseline study evaluated the ecological risk associated with the concentration of six common Phthalate esters (PAEs) in sediment samples collected from the U-Tapao canal in Southern Thailand. Deterministic approaches consisting of standard sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) and Risk quotient (RQ) were used to evaluate the potential ecological risk of individuals and a mixture of Phthalate esters (PAEs) detected in sediment samples. Of the 6 PAEs measured, only three, including di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), di-2-ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) and di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP), were identified and quantified. The total concentration of the 3 PAEs congeners found in the sediment samples ranged from 190 to 2010 ng/g dw. The results from the SQGs and RQ were not consistent with each other. The SQGs results for individual PAEs showed that DEHP and DBP found in sediment was estimated to cause moderate risk on benthic organisms, DiNP was not estimated due to lack of SQGs data. However, the RQ method indicated a low risk of DEHP and DBP on algae, crustacean and fish, whereas DiNP poses no risk on crustacean. Furthermore, based on the result obtained in this study, the consensus SQGs for mixture effects prove to be a more protective tool than the RQ concentration addition approach in predicting mixture effects. Despite inevitable uncertainties, the integration of several screening approaches of ecological risk assessment (ERA) can help get a more inclusive and credible result of the first tier of individuals and a mixture of these pollutants.

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Derivation of predicted no effect concentration and ecological risk assessment of polycyclic musks tonalide and galaxolide in sediment

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety ◽

10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.113093 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 229 ◽

pp. 113093

Author(s):

Wenwen Li ◽

Liping Wang ◽

Xiaonan Wang ◽

Ruizhi Liu

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Ecological Risk ◽

Ecological Risk Assessment ◽

Polycyclic Musks ◽

Effect Concentration

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Quantification and Ecological Risk Assessment of Colloidal Fullerenes Nanoparticles in Sediments by Ultrasonic-Assisted Pressurized Liquid Extraction and High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11123319 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 3319

Author(s):

Nokwanda Hendricks ◽

Olatunde Stephen Olatunji ◽

Bhekumuzi Prince Gumbi

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

High Performance Liquid Chromatography ◽

Liquid Chromatography ◽

Ecological Risk ◽

High Performance ◽

Liquid Extraction ◽

Environmental Concentration ◽

Sediment Samples ◽

Ultrasonic Assisted

Fullerenes engineered nanomaterials are regarded as emerging environmental contaminants. This is as their widespread application in many consumer products, as well as natural release, increases their environmental concentration. In this work, an ultrasonic-assisted pressurized liquid extraction (UAPLE) method followed by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet-visible detector (HPLC-UV-vis) was developed for extraction and determination of fullerene in sediments. The method was validated and found to be suitable for environmental risk assessment. Thereafter, the method was used for the determination of fullerene (C61-PCBM) in sediment samples collected from Umgeni River, South Africa. The current method allows for adequate sensitivity within the linear range of 0.01–4 µg g−1, method limit detection of 0.0094 µg g−1 and recoveries ranged between 67–84%. All the parameters were determined from fortified sediments samples. The measured environmental concentration (MEC) of fullerene in the sediment samples ranged from not detected to 30.55 µg g−1. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the occurrence and ecological risk assessment of carbonaceous fullerene nanoparticles in African sediments and biosolids.

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