AbstractsEngineering

Characterizing the behavior and source contribution of emerging contaminants in the riverine and marine environment across Taiwan

by Jheng-Jie Jiang




Institution: NSYSU
Department: Marine Environment and Engineering
Degree: PhD
Year: 2015
Keywords: emerging contaminants; pharmaceuticals; illicit drugs; source apportionment; receptor model
Record ID: 1388664
Full text PDF: http://etd.lib.nsysu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-0109115-223925


Abstract

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and illicit drugs referred to as emerging contaminants (ECs) have recently been detected in the aquatic environment and may have adverse human healthy effects. A clear picture of EC contamination in the marine and riverine environment of Taiwan is needed to gain insight for research and regulatory needs (e.g. monitoring, control and management). In first part of this thesis, the sources, distribution, and risk presented by ECs in coastal waters off southwestern Taiwan were estimated. The median concentrations for the detected 13 ECs ranged from 1.47 ng/L to 156 ng/L. Spatial variation in concentration of the 13 ECs suggests discharge into coastal waters via ocean outfall pipes and rivers. Codeine and ampicillin have significant pollution risk quotients (RQ >1), indicating potentially high risk to aquatic organisms in coastal waters. In second part, the origin, temporal magnitudes, potential risks and mass inputs of ECs were investigated in the youth festival as we refer to Spring Scream, a large-scale pop music festival, which is notorious for the problems of drug abuse and addiction. Sampling strategy was designed to characterize EC behavior in different stages (before and after the youth festival), based on multivariate data analysis to explore the contributions of contaminants from normal condition to the youth festival. Seasonal variations were observed, with the highest concentrations in April (Spring Scream) and the lowest in October (off-season). Principal component analysis (PCA) and weekly patterns provide a perspective in assessing the touristic impacts and address the dramatic changes in visitor population and drug consumption. The highest mass loads discharged into the aquatic ecosystem corresponded to illicit drugs/controlled substances such as ketamine and MDMA, indicating the high consumption of ecstasy during Spring Scream. On the other hand, this study developed a methodology based on multivariate data analysis for characterizing potential source contributions of ECs detected in 26 river water samples across multi-scape regions in Kaohsiung during dry and wet seasons. Based on this methodology, we unveil an approach toward potential source contributions of ECs, a concept we refer to as the âPharmaco-signature.â Exploratory analysis of data points has been carried out by unsupervised pattern recognition (hierarchical cluster analysis, HCA) and receptor model (principal component analysis-multiple linear regression, PCA-MLR) in an attempt to demonstrate significant source contributions of ECs in different land-use zone. PCA-MLR identified that 58.9% of the mean summed ECs were contributed by domestic impact, 9.7% by antibiotics application, and 31.4% by drug abuse in Kaohsiung. Finally, to make an application to the pharmaco-signature on characterizing the source contributions of ECs in aquatic environments, we collected water samples from the water systems in two megacities. We could successfully infer that the source percentage contributions were 62.2% for…