Occurrence and risk assessment of the residues of pharmaceuticals and other micropollutants in the marine sediments - Preliminary study for the Baltic Sea.

The knowledge on the occurrence of emerging contaminants (ECs) in the marine ecosystems, especially in sediments, is very limited. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to assess the degree of contamination of selected marine sediments from both coastal and offshore areas of the Baltic Sea by pharmaceutical residues and other micropollutants. Microwave-assisted solvent extraction (MAE) was selected for the extraction of 31 contaminants belonging to different groups (pharmaceuticals such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, sulfonamides, beta-blockers, psychotropic drugs, hormones and other micropollutants: caffeine and phenols) followed by the solid phase extraction (SPE) technique used for purification and LC-MS/MS (MRM) for the final analysis. The proposed method for their determination was fully evaluated in terms of their efficiency and validation parameters. During the research 19 compounds were detected in the sediments at concentrations up to 56 μg kg-1 d.w., proving that the most frequently detected compounds were p-nitrophenol, diclofenac, and caffeine. These data were supported by the preliminary hazard and risk assessment for the detected chemicals of concern. Based on the obtained results, it was proven that the measured concentrations of selected contaminants are potentially hazardous to the environment. These newly presented data on the occurrence and risk assessment of ECs detection in the studied sediments are of particular importance for the assessment of pollution of the Baltic Sea.