Complex mixtures of contaminants from multiple sources, including agriculture, industry or wastewater enter aquatic environments and might pose hazards or risks to humans or wildlife. Targeted analyses of a few priority substances provide limited information about water quality. In this study, a combined chemical and effect screening of water quality in the River Bosna, in Bosnia and Herzegovina was carried out, with focus on occurrence and effects of contaminants of emerging concern. Chemicals in water were sampled at 10 sites along the Bosna River by use of passive sampling. The combination of semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) enabled sampling of a broad range of contaminants from hydrophobic (PAHs, PCBs, OCPs) to hydrophilic compounds (pesticides, pharmaceuticals and hormones), which were determined by use of GC-MS and LC-MS (MS). In vitro, cell-based bioassays were applied to assess (anti)androgenic, estrogenic and dioxin-like potencies of extracts of the samplers. Of a total of 168 targeted compounds, 107 were detected at least once. Cumulative pollutant concentrations decreased downstream from the city of Sarajevo, which was identified as the major source of organic pollutants in the area. Responses in all bioassays were observed for samples from all sites. In general, estrogenicity could be well explained by analysis of target estrogens, while the drivers of the other observed effects remained largely unknown. Profiling of hazard quotients identified two sites downstream of Sarajevo as hotspots of biological potency. Risk assessment of detected compounds revealed, that 7 compounds (diazinon, diclofenac, 17β-estradiol, estrone, benzo[k]fluoranthene, fluoranthene and benzo[k]fluoranthene) might pose risks to aquatic biota in the Bosna River. The study brings unique results of a complex water quality assessment in a region with an insufficient water treatment infrastructure.

Dept Biomedical Veterinary Sciences and Toxicology Centre University of Saskatchewan 52 Campus Drive Saskatoon SK S7N 5B4 Saskatchewan Canada; School of Biological Sciences University of Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse School of the Environment Nanjing University Nanjing People's Republic of China

Environmental Institute Okružná 784 42 972 41 Koš Slovakia

Masaryk University Faculty of Science RECETOX Kamenice 753 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Masaryk University Faculty of Science RECETOX Kamenice 753 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic; Environmental Institute Okružná 784 42 972 41 Koš Slovakia

Masaryk University Faculty of Science RECETOX Kamenice 753 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic; Water Research Institute Nabr Arm Gen L Svobodu 5 812 49 Bratislava Slovakia

Slovak University of Technology Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology Radlinskeho 9 812 37 Bratislava Slovakia

University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters South Bohemian Research Center of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses Zatisi 728 2 CZ 389 25 Vodnany Czech Republic

References provided by Crossref.org

Environmental aspects of wastewater recycling from the point of view of emergent pollutant removal

Bioanalytical and chemical characterization of organic micropollutant mixtures in long-term exposed passive samplers from the Joint Danube Survey 4: Setting a baseline for water quality monitoring