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Occurrence of Some Organic UV Filters in Wastewater, in Surface Waters, and in Fish from Swiss Lakes

Balmer, M.E., H.R. Buser, M.D. Muller and T. Poiger
Environmental Science & Technology, 2005, 39 (4), 953-962.

The occurrence of four important organic UV filter compounds (benzophenone-3, BP-3; 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, 4-MBC; ethylhexyl methoxy cinnamate, EHMC; octocrylene, OC) was investigated in wastewater, and in water and fish from various Swiss lakes, using GC/MS.
[W. Giger]

Organic UV filters are used in personal care products such as sunscreen products, and in cosmetics, beauty creams, skin lotions, lipsticks, hair sprays, hair dyes, shampoos, and so forth. The compounds enter the aquatic environment from showering, wash-off, washing (laundering), and so forth via wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) ("indirect inputs") and from recreational activities such as swimming and bathing in lakes and rivers ("direct inputs"). In this study, we investigated the occurrence of four important organic UV filter compounds (benzophenone-3, BP-3; 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, 4-MBC; ethylhexyl methoxy cinnamate, EHMC; octocrylene, OC) in wastewater, and in water and fish from various Swiss lakes, using gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analyses. All four UV filters were present in untreated wastewater (WWTP influent) with a maximum concentration of 19 µg/L for EHMC. The data indicate a seasonal variation with influent loads higher in the warmer season (June 2002) than in the colder one (April 2002). The influent loads were in the order EHIVIC > 4-MBC similar to BP-3 > OC. The concentrations in treated wastewater (WWTP effluent) were considerably lower, indicating substantial elimination in the plants. 4-MBC was usually the most prevalent compound (maximum concentration, 2.7 µg/L, followed by BP-3, EHMC, and OC. UV filters were also detected in Swiss midland lakes and a river (Limmat) receiving inputs from WWTPs and recreational activities. However, all concentrations were low (<2-35 ng/L); no UV filters (<2 ng/L) were detected in a remote mountain lake. Data from passive sampling using semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) supported the presence of these UV filters in the lakes and the river and suggested some potential for accumulation of these compounds in biota. SPMD-derived water concentrations increased in the order Greifensee < Zürichsee < Hüttnersee. This order is reversed from that observed for methyl triclosan, used as a chemical marker for WWTP-derived lipophilic contaminants in the lakes. This indicated inputs of UV filters from sources other than WWTPs to the lakes during summer, for example, inputs from recreational activities. Fish (white fish, Coregonus sp.; roach, Rutilus rutilus; perch, Perca fluviatilis) from these, lakes contained low but detectable concentrations of UV filters, in particular, 4-MbC (up to 166 ng/g on a lipid basis). 4-MBC concentrations relative to methyl triclosan were lower in fish than in SPMDs exposed in the same lakes, suggesting that 4-MBC is less bioaccumulated than expected or metabolized in fish. The lipid-based bioconcentration factor (BCFL) estimated from the fish (roach) data and SPMD-derived water concentrations was about 1-2.3 x 10⁴) and thus approximately 1 order of magnitude lower than expected from its K-OW value.
[Balmer, M.E., H.R. Buser, M.D. Muller and T. Poiger]