Institute for the Environment, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK.
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8BB, UK.
Environ Int. 2012 Apr;40:15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2011.11.007. Epub 2011 Dec 27.
Synthetic glucocorticoids (GCs) are consumed in large amounts as anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs worldwide. Based on what has been learnt from studies of other human pharmaceuticals, they are likely to be present in the aquatic environment. However, to date, information on the environmental concentrations of GCs is very limited. The situation is complicated by the fact that a considerable number of GCs are in everyday use in most developed countries. Hence, obtaining a full picture of GC concentrations in the aquatic environment using the traditional analytical chemistry approach would be time-consuming and expensive. Thus, we took a modelling approach to predict the total environmental concentration of all synthetic GCs (consisting of 28 individual GCs) in the River Thames, as a first step in risk assessment of these drugs. Using reliable data on consumption, the LF2000-WQX model predicts mean concentrations up to 30 ng/L of total GCs in surface water as a best case scenario when the lowest excretion and highest removal rates in sewage treatment works were used, whereas mean concentrations up to 850 ng/L were predicted when the highest excretion and lowest removal rates are considered. We also present the 10th and 90th percentile concentrations (which indicate the likely range of concentrations seen from high flow to low flow conditions in the river) of the highest and lowest consumed GCs, to show the spatial and temporal variations of the concentrations of individual GCs. These data probably provide reliable estimates of the likely range of concentrations of GCs in a typical river impacted by effluent from many sewage treatment plants. Results also identify the hot spots where field studies on fish could be focused. To determine if aquatic organisms face any threat from GCs, laboratory toxicity studies should be conducted using concentrations similar to those reported here.
合成糖皮质激素（GCs）作为抗炎和免疫抑制剂在全球范围内大量使用。根据从其他人类药物研究中学到的知识，它们很可能存在于水环境中。然而，迄今为止，关于 GCs 环境浓度的信息非常有限。情况变得复杂的原因是，在大多数发达国家，相当数量的 GCs 每天都在使用。因此，使用传统的分析化学方法来全面了解水环境中 GC 的浓度将是耗时且昂贵的。因此，我们采用了建模方法来预测泰晤士河所有合成 GC（由 28 种单独的 GC 组成）的总环境浓度，作为对这些药物进行风险评估的第一步。使用关于消费的可靠数据，LF2000-WQX 模型预测在污水处理厂使用最低排泄率和最高去除率的最佳情况下，地表水总 GC 的平均浓度高达 30ng/L，而在考虑最高排泄率和最低去除率的情况下，预测的平均浓度高达 850ng/L。我们还展示了最高和最低消耗 GC 的第 10 个和第 90 个百分位数浓度（表示河流高流量到低流量条件下可能出现的浓度范围），以显示个别 GC 浓度的时空变化。这些数据可能提供了受许多污水处理厂废水影响的典型河流中 GC 浓度可能范围的可靠估计。结果还确定了可以集中进行鱼类实地研究的热点。为了确定水生生物是否面临 GC 的威胁，应使用类似于此处报告的浓度进行实验室毒性研究。
