Shanghai National Engineering Research Center of Urban Water Resources Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200082, China.
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 1;18(3):1288. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18031288.
The presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the aquatic environment has recently become a global issue. The very large number of CECs reported in the literature makes it difficult to interpret potential risks as well as the removal efficiencies, especially for the more recalcitrant compounds. As such, there is a need for indicator compounds that are representative of CECs detected in systems worldwide. In an effort to develop such a list, five criteria were used to address the potential for applying indicator compounds; these criteria include usage, occurrence, resistance to treatment, persistence, and physicochemical properties that shed light on the potential degradability of a class of compounds. Additional constraints applied included the feasibility of procuring and analyzing compounds. In total, 22 CECs belonging to 13 groups were selected as indicator compounds. These compounds include acetaminophen and ibuprofen (analgesic); erythromycin, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim (antibiotics); diazepam and fluoxetine (antidepressants); carbamazepine (antiepileptic); atenolol and propranolol (β-blockers); gemfibrozil (blood lipid regulator); tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP) (fire retardant); cotinine (nicotine metabolite); atrazine, metolachlor, and N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) (pesticides); 17β-estradiol and cholesterol (steroids); caffeine (psychomotor stimulant); perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (surfactants); and iopromide (X-ray contrast agent). These thirteen groups of compounds represent CECs with the greatest resistance to treatment processes, most persistent in surface waters, and detected with significant frequency throughout the water cycle. Among the important implications of using indicator compounds are the ability to better understand the efficacy of treatment processes as well as the transport and fate of these compounds in the environment.
新兴关注污染物（CECs）在水环境中的存在已成为一个全球性问题。文献中报道的大量 CECs 使得很难解释潜在风险以及去除效率，特别是对于更难降解的化合物。因此，需要有代表性的指示化合物来代表全球系统中检测到的 CEC。为了开发这样一个清单，使用了五项标准来解决应用指示化合物的潜力；这些标准包括用途、出现、对处理的抗性、持久性以及反映一类化合物潜在可降解性的物理化学性质。应用的其他限制包括获得和分析化合物的可行性。总共选择了 22 种属于 13 组的 CEC 作为指示化合物。这些化合物包括对乙酰氨基酚和布洛芬（镇痛药）；红霉素、磺胺甲恶唑和甲氧苄啶（抗生素）；地西泮和氟西汀（抗抑郁药）；卡马西平（抗癫痫药）；阿替洛尔和普萘洛尔（β-受体阻滞剂）；吉非贝齐（血脂调节剂）；三（2-氯乙基）磷酸酯（TCEP）（阻燃剂）；可替宁（尼古丁代谢物）；莠去津、甲草胺和 N,N-二乙基-间甲苯酰胺（DEET）（杀虫剂）；17β-雌二醇和胆固醇（类固醇）；咖啡因（精神兴奋剂）；全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）和全氟辛酸（PFOA）（表面活性剂）；以及碘普罗胺（X 射线造影剂）。这 13 组化合物代表了对处理过程具有最大抗性、在地表水中最持久且在整个水循环中检测频率较高的 CEC。使用指示化合物的重要意义之一是能够更好地理解处理过程的效果以及这些化合物在环境中的迁移和归宿。
