PPCPs in the Chaohu Lake Basin: Water-urine linkage and health risks for aging populations

The escalating consumption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) has driven their continuous release into the environment, urgently warranting a comprehensive investigation of aquatic contamination profiles and risks to aquatic ecosystems and humans. This study presents a basin-wide assessment of PPCP occurrence patterns, ecological and human risks in Chaohu Lake Basin, China. Forty priority PPCPs were screened across surface waters (lake and tributaries), water from drinking-water treatment plant, and community tap water. Of the 40 target PPCPs, 17 were identified, with detection rates ranging from 2.5% to 97.5%. Seven PPCPs were found in tap water, with caffeine and DEET each present in 85.7% of samples. Ecological-risk modelling indicated that caffeine and amantadine pose a high risk and moderate risk to algae, while no significant risk to daphnids or fish was identified for any compound. The assessment of human health risks, estimated based on daily water consumption, suggests that current levels of PPCPs do not present a measurable health risk to consumers. Urine samples of elderly residents in areas where drinking water is sourced from Chaohu Lake were collected for PPCPs detection. All urine samples from the elderly contained at least one type of PPCP, the concentration range of PPCPs in urine was from the limit of detection to 1.03 mg/L. Cotinine and DEET posed a potential health risk to 10.87% and 5.3% of all subjects, via urine biomonitoring, respectively. • 17 out of 40 target PPCPs were detected in water samples from the Chaohu Lake basin. • Urban - nearby tributaries cause the high pollution in the western region. • Amantadine and caffeine pose ecological risks to green algae. • PPCPs levels pose no measurable risks to elderly based on drinking water intake. • DEET and COT pose the relatively highest health risks based on the hazard quotient.