An increasing number of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been measured in municipal waste water effluents and in receiving waters in the Great Lakes region over the past 10 years. However, there are very few measurements of PPCPs in Great Lakes fish possibly because of the limitations of analytical methods and the assumption that these substances may be difficult to detect due to metabolism. Our study site was Cootes Paradise marsh, a 250-ha urban wetland at the western end of Hamilton harbor (Hamilton, ON). The wetland receives tertiary treated municipal waste waters as well as urban storm runoff. Our goal was to try to measure PPCPs in caged and wild goldfish, as well as carp, from Cootes Paradise, and determine the extent of bioaccumulation by comparing concentrations in waters and in fish blood plasma from the same sites. We were also interested in linking the fish plasma PPCPs with proteomic, metabolomic and biological effects data being generated for the same fish. We determined 127 PPCPs including antibiotics (e.g., Sulfamethoxazole), beta-blockers (e.g., Metoprolol), anti-depressants (eg Fluoxetine), anti-inflammatories (e.g., Ibuprofen), anticonvulsant (e.g., Carbamazepine), and personal care products such as the insect repellent, DEET, and the antimicrobial, triclosan, in plasma of caged goldfish from Cootes Paradise and from a reference site (Jordan Harbour on Lake Ontario) as well as in wild goldfish and carp. Water samples (1 L unfiltered) were taken at several sites in Cootes Paradise as well as at the reference site in winter (Jan/Feb 2013 and 2014) and in summer, coinciding with exposure of caged goldfish (July 2014). Samples were analysed by AXYS Analytical (Sidney BC) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Thirty of 127 PPCPs were detected at a central Cootes Paradise site in 2014. Seventeen compounds were detected in wild and caged goldfish plasma. Seven compounds were detected in goldfish but were below detection limits (typically &lt;0.5 ng/L) in water. The highest bioaccumulation factor (conc in fish plasma/conc in water) was found for the antidepressant Diazepam (mainly due to its metabolite oxazepam) (1113 L/kg) and plasma concentrations exceeded levels associated with toxicity in humans. The results illustrate that there is significant PPCP exposure of wild fish near Great Lakes municipal waste outfalls. Further information would be useful so that the risks to the aquatic environment are better understood.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care product chemicals in waters and fish in a Great Lakes urban wetland

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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