Occurrence of Emerging Contaminants in Brazilian Drinking Waters: A Sewage-To-Tap Issue

• Published in: Water, air, and soil pollution Vol. 206; no. 1-4; pp. 57 - 67
• Main Authors: Sodré, Fernando F., Locatelli, Marco Antonio F., Jardim, Wilson F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-02-2010; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 17β-Estradiol; Aluminum; Analysis; Applied sciences; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bisphenol A; Caffeine; Cholesterol; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts; Contaminants; Drinking; Drinking water; Drinking water and swimming-pool water. Desalination; Dry season; Earth and Environmental Science; Effluents; Endocrine disruptors; Environment; Environmental monitoring; Environmental perception; Estrogen; Estrone; Exact sciences and technology; Hydrogeology; Laboratories; Phytosterols; Pollution; Purification; Raw sewage; Sewage; Sewage treatment plants; Soil pollution; Soil Science & Conservation; Sterols; Studies; Supplies; Temperature; Water analysis; Water pollution; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Water sampling; Water supply; Water treatment and pollution; South America; Brazil; America; Brazil, Sao Paulo, Campinas; Endocrine disruptors; Drinking water; Bisphenol A; Sewage discharges; Emerging contaminants; Caffeine; Chemical analysis; 17β-Estradiol; Endocrine disruptor; Urban area; Cholesterol; Stigmasterol; Water quality; Phenols; Estrone; Urban waste water; Water pollution; Sex steroid hormone; Waste water discharge; Organic compounds; Anthropogenic factor; Sterol
• ISSN: 0049-6979; 1573-2932
• DOI: 10.1007/s11270-009-0086-9

The goal of this work was to investigate the occurrence of emerging contaminants in drinking water of the city of Campinas, Brazil. Tap water samples were analyzed using SPE-GC-MS for 11 contaminants of recent environmental concern. Six emerging contaminants (stigmasterol, cholesterol, bisphenol A, caffeine, estrone, and 17β-estradiol) were found in the samples. The latter two were detected only during the dry season, with concentrations below quantification limits. Stigmasterol showed the highest average concentration (0.34 ± 0.13 µg L
−1
), followed by cholesterol (0.27 ± 0.07 µg L
−1
), caffeine (0.22 ± 0.06 µg L
−1
), and bisphenol A (0.16 ± 0.03 µg L
−1
). In Campinas, where surface drinking water supplies receive large amounts of raw sewage inputs, the emerging contaminants levels in drinking waters were higher than median values compiled for drinking and finished water samples around the world.