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Occurrence and risk evaluation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in wastewater and surface water of Lahore, Pakistan

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Abstract

The current study highlights the occurrence, spatial distribution, and risk assessment of 16 endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) including their transformation products (TPs) in the wastewater and surface water of Lahore, Pakistan, using solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The parent EDCs include bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS), triclocarban (TCC), estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), ethinylestradiol (EE2), 4-n-octylphenol (4n-OP), and 4-n-nonylphenol (4n-NP). The TPs include two TPs each of BPA, TCC, and estrogens along with a TP of TCS. Most EDCs showed 100% detection frequency in the wastewater with highest median concentration of 1310 ng/L for E3. In the surface water, the highest median concentration was, however, observed for BPA (54.6 ng/L). Spatial variations in terms of sum of concentration due to all EDCs and their TPs were observed at different sampling points which suggest contamination due to industrial waste from nearby industrial estate. Risk evaluation in terms of risk quotient (RQ) and estradiol equivalent factor (EEQ) showed that most of EDCs and their TPs could pose high risk and estrogenicity to the surrounding environment. From the results of the current study, it is observed that the environment of Pakistan is deteriorating and is potential risk for endocrine disruption. It is, therefore, recommended to take stringent measures to make it sustainable for current as well as for future generations.

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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Mr. Lifeng Lin and Ms. Xu Liao are appreciated for their help in the maintenance of HPLC–MSMS and GC–MS and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Punjab, Pakistan, for providing facility of solid-phase extraction (SPE).

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1805244, 41673099), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) President’s International fellowship (award number 2015PE004) for Postdoctoral Researchers, and Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2016280).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China

    Muhammad Ashfaq, Yan Li & Qian Sun

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, PO BOX 50700, Pakistan

    Muhammad Ashfaq, Muhammad Zubair, Sajjad Hussain Sumrra & Ghulam Mustafa

  3. School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou, 350118, Fujian, China

    Yan Li

  4. Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan

    Muhammad Saif Ur Rehman

  5. Division of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry, University of Education Lahore, Multan Campus, Pakistan

    Muhammad Faizan Nazar

  6. Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Tahir Fazal

  7. Department of Geography, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, 50700, Pakistan

    Humayun Ashraf

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  1. Muhammad Ashfaq
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  2. Yan Li
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  10. Qian Sun
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Contributions

MA and QS conceived and designed the study. MA, QS, YL, MSUR, and MZ performed the experimental work. MA, QS, SHS, MFN, MTF, GM, and HA evaluated the data, and MA and QS wrote the manuscript. All authors read and agreed for submission of final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Muhammad Zubair or Qian Sun.

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Ashfaq, M., Li, Y., Zubair, M. et al. Occurrence and risk evaluation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in wastewater and surface water of Lahore, Pakistan. Environ Geochem Health 45, 4837–4851 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01527-6

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