Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs), and Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs) in Runoff from a Potato Field Irrigated with Treated Wastewater in Southern California

Abstract

Irrigation of crops with treated wastewater has been employed in many regions of the world. It mitigates the pressure of water demand, however, it also introduces effluent-derived organic contami- nants into surface waters via agriculturalrunoff. In this study, a potato field located in southern Califor- nia was selected as the research site. Runoff sam- ples were collected during irrigation events, and a variety of compounds were identified both in irri- gation water and runoff samples. Treatments on the field included polyacrylamide (PAM) application, deep plow, previous-grown Sudan grass, and con- trol (without above treatments). The compounds in- cluded pharmaceuticals (e.g., clofibric acid, ibupro- fen, naproxen, ketoprofen, diclofenac), personal care product (e.g., triclosan), endocrine disrupting com- pounds (e.g., bisphenol A, 4-n-nonylphenol, 4-t- octylphenol), and estrogenic compounds (e.g., es- trone, 17-estradiol, 17α-ethynylestradiol). The mon- itoring results showed the presence of these com- pounds in runoff samples. They were at concentra- tions from below limits of quantification (LOQ) to sub g/l levels. Although their levels were low, their po- tential to elicit adverse effects in aquatic organisms cannot be overlooked.