Cited by 61Water Treatment and DisinfectionPharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental ImpactsAdvanced oxidation water treatment

Transformation of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products During Drinking Water Disinfection

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Leusch, Frederic D.L., Neale, Peta A., Busetti, Francesco, Card, Marcella, Humpage, Andrew, Orbell, John D., Ridgway, Harry F., Stewart, Matthew B. +2 more·2019·Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are frequently detected in drinking water sources. This raises concerns about the formation of potentially more toxic transformation products (TPs) after drinking water disinfection. This study applied a combination of computational and experimental methods to investigate the biological activity of eight EDCs and PPCPs commonly detected in source waters (acetaminophen, bisphenol A, carbamazepine, estrone, 17α-ethinylestradiol, gemfibrozil, naproxen and triclosan) before and after disinfection. Using a Stepped Forced Molecular Dynamics (SFMD) method, we detected 911 unique TPs, 36% of which have been previously reported in the scientific literature. We calculated the likelihood that TPs would cause damage to biomolecules or DNA relative to the parent compound based on lipophilicity and the occurrence of structural alerts, and applied two Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) tools to predict toxicity via receptor-mediated effects. In parallel, batch experiments were performed with three disinfectants, chlorine, chlorine dioxide and chloramine. After solid-phase extraction, the resulting TP mixtures were analyzed by chemical analysis and a battery of eleven in vitro bioassays covering a variety of endpoints. The laboratory results were in good agreement with the predictions. Overall, the combination of computational and experimental chemistry and toxicity methods used in this study suggest that disinfection of the studied EDCs and PPCPs will produce a large number of TPs, which are unlikely to increase specific toxicity (e.g., endocrine activity), but may result in increased reactive and non-specific toxicity.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.106

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Authors
Leusch, F. D. L., Neale, P. A., Busetti, F., Card, M., Humpage, A., Orbell, J. D., Ridgway, H. F., Stewart, M. B., van de Merwe, J. P., & Escher, B. I.
Affiliations
  • Griffith University (AU)
  • Edith Cowan University (AU)
  • The University of Queensland (AU)
  • South Australian Water Corporation (AU)
  • Victoria University (AU)
Venue
Science of The Total Environment
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-03
Volume
657
Pages
1480-1490
ISSN
0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2904533128
Cited by
61
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 4
FWCI
2.59
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Victoria University Research Repository (Victoria University) (submittedVersion)
  • Australasian Journal of Paramedicine (submittedVersion)
  • Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
  • Water Research Foundation (4396)
  • Water Research Australia
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Water Treatment and Disinfection
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Advanced oxidation water treatment
Keywords
endocrine disruptors, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, degradation intermediates, drinking water disinfection, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, chloramines, paracetamol, bisphenol A, carbamazepine, estrone, ethinyl estradiol, gemfibrozil, naproxen, triclosan, toxicity prediction, QSAR, in vitro bioassay, DNA damage, receptor-mediated toxicity
MeSH terms
Biological Assay, Disinfection, Pharmaceutical Preparations, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Endocrine Disruptors, Drinking Water

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