Input of emerging contaminants (EC) such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and consumer/industrial chemicals to San Francisco (SF) Bay through stormwater or wastewater discharge is of concern due to potential impacts on environmental quality and effects on wildlife.  Although proactive efforts have been directed toward monitoring for ECs within the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP), there still remains much uncertainty regarding the identity and fate of the most relevant ECs in SF Bay water, along with their source. We have thus conducted a broad spectrum, non-targeted analysis of polar, water-soluble organic micropollutants in SF Bay using high resolution/accurate mass (HR/AM) mass spectrometry approaches, in order to assess occurrence and establish prioritization of ECs for further fate and effects assessment.  In 2016, Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Samplers (POCIS) were deployed at three locations in the San Francisco Bay watershed influenced by different contaminant pathways: urban stormwater runoff (San Leandro Bay), agricultural runoff (Napa River), and wastewater effluent (Lower South Bay). These passive samplers were used to provide an integrated, semi-quantitative assessment of pollutants entering the Bay over the course of approximately three weeks. Grab samples were collected before and after deployment to provide a quantitative snapshot of contaminants for comparison.  24-hour composite samples of wastewater effluent were also collected from several wastewater dischargers.  Samples were analyzed using HR/AM Orbitrap liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry and resulting data were analyzed using a custom workflow designed for high-fidelity componentization, prioritization, identification, and semi-quantitation of detected molecular features. Compounds identified through this method include, but are not limited to, detergents and other surfactants, pesticide and pharmaceutical breakdown products, and plastic additives. Preliminary results from the non-targeted analyses of SF Bay water will be presented in context of pathways and (where possible) estimated loadings of ECs to the SF Bay ecosystem.

Application of non-targeted analysis approaches to assess input of organic micropollutants to San Francisco Bay

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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