Occurrence, migration, and risk assessment of PPCPs in water bodies and sediments of river-type drinking water sources in eastern China

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are receiving attention as emerging pollutants due to their extensive applications and persistent emissions. The Qiantang River Basin, a representative region in eastern China that relies on surface water for drinking purposes, experiences the movement and accumulation of PPCPs in its water and sediment, which can directly affect the safety of drinking water in the basin. This study focuses on the Qiantang River Basin’s surface water, sediment, and drinking water to determine the occurrence and potential risks of 31 PPCPs. It aims to address whether PPCPs in the environment could migrate and accumulate, thereby affecting human health. The findings indicated that PPCPs are ubiquitous in various environmental media, with surface and pore water showing distinct spatial distribution characteristics, specifically, concentrations escalated with urban scale expansion, indicating that domestic sewage discharge is the primary source of PPCP input. Bisphenol A (BPA), ketoprofen (KTP), and diethyltoluamide (DEET) were the primary contaminants. The movement of PPCPs within the surface water-sediment-pore water system was affected by various circumstances. Substances like Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) (RQ>10³) and KTP (RQ=22.3) present in surface water and sediment pose significant ecological concerns, and KTP and atrazine (ATZ) (0.6<RQ<2.1) also pose a high risk in drinking water. This study performed an extensive analysis of the distribution and risks associated with typical PPCPs in the Qiantang River Basin, offering a scientific foundation and theoretical support for research on the environmental behavior of PPCPs in this area and the development of targeted pollution control strategies.