Study on the Occurrence of Artificial Sweeteners, Parabens, and Other Emerging Contaminants in Hospital Wastewater Using LC-QToF-MS Target Screening Approach
Author:
Arvaniti Olga12, Gkotsis Georgios3, Nika Maria-Christina3ORCID, Gyparakis Stelios4, Manios Thrassyvoulos4, Thomaidis Nikolaos3ORCID, Fountoulakis Michalis1, Stasinakis Athanasios1
Affiliation:
1. Water and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, University Hill, 81100 Mytilene, Greece 2. Department of Agricultural Development, Agrofood and Management of Natural Resources, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34400 Psachna, Greece 3. Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece 4. Department of Agriculture, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Estavromenos, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Abstract
The presence of 220 emerging contaminants belonging to different classes (artificial sweeteners, personal care products, coffee and tobacco-related compounds, and industrial chemicals) was investigated in hospital wastewater for the first time. Twenty samples were collected within two sampling periods from two points of a Greek General Hospital. Target compounds were analyzed using a solid-phase extraction protocol followed by UHPLC-ESI-QToF-MS analysis. Analytical results showed that 23 micropollutants were detected at least once in hospital wastewater samples in Period 1, while 27 compounds were detected at least once in Period 2. The coffee and tobacco-related compounds were the most frequently detected substances, followed by artificial sweeteners, parabens, and industrial chemicals. The highest mean concentrations were recorded for the artificial sweeteners cyclamic acid (377 μg/L) and saccharine (295 μg/L), followed by caffeine (193 μg/L), nicotine (162 μg/L), and the industrial chemical lauryl diethanolamide (153 μg/L). The group of artificial sweeteners contributed up to 55.1% (Point A/Period 1) to the total concentration of studied chemicals. The detection of high concentrations of artificial sweeteners in hospital effluents reveals that hospitals should be considered as important point-sources of these contaminants.
Funder
European Regional Development Fund
Subject
Water Science and Technology,Aquatic Science,Geography, Planning and Development,Biochemistry
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