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Antibiotics in water and sediments from Liao River in Jilin Province, China: occurrence, distribution, and risk assessment

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Abstract

The seasonal and spatial variations of 12 selected antibiotics belonging to four groups, including sulfonamides, quinolones, tetracyclines, and macrolides, were investigated in three main tributaries of Liao River in Jilin Province, northeast China. The concentrations of the antibiotics in the surface water and surface sediments were determined by HPLC–MS/MS. The results indicated that oxytetracycline (OTC), erythromycin (ETM), and ofloxacin (OFL) were dominant antibiotics in the water, with mean concentration of 174.9 ± 266.9, 103.2 ± 95.5, and 67.1 ± 77.3 ng/L, respectively, while OFL, OTC, and norfloxacin were prominent antibiotics in sediments, with mean concentration of 152.2 ± 108.3, 149.5 ± 147.6, and 62.8 ± 83.3 ng/g, respectively. The total antibiotic concentrations in water at each sampling site were 1.2–3 times higher in autumn (November 2015) than those in summer (July 2015), whereas antibiotic concentrations in sediments showed no significant seasonal variation. The highest total antibiotic concentrations in water and sediments were observed around cities with large populations of humans and livestock. Risk assessment based on single antibiotic exposure revealed that OFL, ETM, and OTC were main antibiotics with potential adverse ecological consequences for aquatic organisms. In addition, the mixtures of selected antibiotics posed medium to high risk for aquatic organisms in the Liao River in Jilin Province.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment in China [No. 2012ZX07202009], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 21577047, 21307041 and 21277056], the Science and Technology Development Program of Jilin Province [No. 20150520078JH], and the Science and Technology Program of Department of Education of Jilin Province [No. 2015-494]. The authors would like to thank Dr. Alejandra C. Ortiz for providing valuable comments and revising the English style, thank Dr. Xun Zhang and Dr. Daihui Zhang for the determination of antibiotics, and thank Lufeng Li and Yaojing Xie for the sample collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Lab of Groundwater Resources and Environment of Ministry of Education, Key Lab of Water Resources and Aquatic Environment of Jilin Province, College of Environment and Resources, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China

    Deming Dong, Liwen Zhang, Shuang Liu, Zhiyong Guo & Xiuyi Hua

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  1. Deming Dong
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  2. Liwen Zhang
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  3. Shuang Liu
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Correspondence to Zhiyong Guo.

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Dong, D., Zhang, L., Liu, S. et al. Antibiotics in water and sediments from Liao River in Jilin Province, China: occurrence, distribution, and risk assessment. Environ Earth Sci 75, 1202 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-6008-4

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