Pollution by chemical substances is of concern for the maintenance of healthy and sustainable aquatic environments. While the occurrence and fate of numerous emerging contaminants, especially pharmaceuticals, is well documented in freshwater, their occurrence and behavior in coastal and marine waters is much less studied and understood. This study investigates the occurrence of 58 chemicals in the open surface water of the Western Mediterranean Sea for the first time. 70 samples in total were collected in 10 different sampling areas. 3 pesticides, 11 pharmaceuticals and personal care products and 2 artificial sweeteners were detected at sub-ng to ng/L levels. Among them, the herbicide terbuthylazine, the pharmaceuticals caffeine, carbamazepine, naproxen and paracetamol, the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, the antibacterial triclocarban and the two artificial sweeteners acesulfame and saccharin were detected in all samples. The compound detected at the highest concentration was saccharin (up to 5.23 ng/L). Generally small spatial differences among individual sampling areas point to a diffuse character of sources which are likely dominated by WWTP effluents and runoffs from agricultural areas or even, at least for pharmaceuticals and artificial food additives, from offshore sources such as ferries and cruising ships. The implications of the ubiquitous presence in the open sea of chemicals that are bio-active or toxic at low doses on photosynthetic organisms and/or bacteria (i.e., terbuthylazine, sulfamethoxazole or triclocarban) deserve scientific attention, especially concerning possible subtle impacts from chronic exposure of pelagic microorganisms.

• Klíčová slova
• Artificial sweeteners, Contaminants of emerging concern, Mediterranean Sea, Personal care products, Pesticides, Pharmaceuticals,
• MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu analýza   MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí * MeSH
• mořská voda chemie   MeSH
• pesticidy analýza   MeSH
• sladidla analýza   MeSH
• sladká voda MeSH
• zemědělství MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Středozemní moře MeSH
• Názvy látek
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu MeSH
• pesticidy MeSH
• sladidla MeSH

The occurrence of chemical and biological contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) was investigated in treated wastewater intended for reuse in agriculture. An agarose hydrogel diffusion-based passive sampler was exposed to the outlet of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) located in Cyprus, which is equipped with membrane bioreactor (MBR). Passive samplers in triplicate were exposed according to a time-series exposure plan with maximum exposure duration of 28 days. Composite flow-proportional wastewater samples were collected in parallel with the passive sampling exposure plan and were processed by solid phase extraction using HORIZON SPE-DEX 4790 and the same sorbent material (Oasis HLB) as in the passive sampler. The analysis of passive samplers and wastewater samples enabled (i) the field-scale calibration of the passive sampler prototype by the calculation of in situ sampling rates of target substances, and (ii) the investigation of in silico predicted transformation products of the four most ecotoxicologically hazardous antibiotics (azithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin, ofloxacin). Additionally, the wastewater samples were subjected to the analysis of seven preselected antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) and one mobile resistant element (int1). All extracts were analyzed for chemicals in a single batch using a highly sensitive method for pharmaceuticals, antibiotics and illicit drugs by liquid chromatography tandem MS/MS (LC-QQQ) and for various other target compounds (2316 compounds in total) by liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). 279 CECs and all investigated ARGs (except for blaCTX-M-32) were detected, highlighting potential chemical and biological hazards related to wastewater reuse practices. 16 CECs were prioritized following ecotoxicological risk assessment, whereas sul1 and the mobile resistant element (int1) showed the highest abundance. Comprehensive monitoring efforts using novel sampling methods such as passive sampling, wide-scope target screening and molecular analysis are required to assure safe application of wastewater reuse and avoid spread and crop uptake of potentially hazardous chemicals.

• Klíčová slova
• Antibiotic resistance genes, Antibiotics, Contaminants of emerging concern, Hydrogel-based passive sampler, Transformation products, Wastewater reuse,
• MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu * analýza   MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
• odpadní voda * MeSH
• tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie MeSH
• zemědělství MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu * MeSH
• odpadní voda * MeSH

To characterize the source contributions of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) from different aquatic environments of Taiwan, we collected water samples from different aquatic systems, which were screened for 30 pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs. The total estimated mass loadings of CECs were 23.1 g/d in southern aquatic systems and 133 g/d in central aquatic systems. We developed an analytical framework combining pollutant fingerprinting, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and principal component analysis with multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR) to infer the pharmaco-signature and source contributions of CECs. Based on this approach, we estimate source contributions of 62.2% for domestic inputs, 16.9% for antibiotics application, and 20.9% for drug abuse/medication in southern aquatic system, compared with 47.3% domestic, 35.1% antibiotic, and 17.6% drug abuse/medication inputs to central aquatic systems. The proposed pharmaco-signature method provides initial insights into the profile and source apportionment of CECs in complex aquatic systems, which are of importance for environmental management.

• Klíčová slova
• Emerging contaminants, Fingerprinting, Mass loading, Risk quotient, Source apportionment,
• MeSH
• analýza hlavních komponent MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu analýza   chemie   MeSH
• lineární modely MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí metody   MeSH
• multivariační analýza MeSH
• odpadní voda chemie   MeSH
• řeky chemie   MeSH
• řízení kvality MeSH
• shluková analýza MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Taiwan MeSH
• Názvy látek
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu MeSH
• odpadní voda MeSH

Large-scale suspect and non-targeted screening approaches based on high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) are today available for chemical profiling and holistic characterisation of biological samples. These advanced techniques allow the simultaneous detection of a large number of chemical features, including markers of human chemical exposure. Such markers are of interest for biomonitoring, environmental health studies and support to risk assessment. Furthermore, these screening approaches have the promising capability to detect chemicals of emerging concern (CECs), document the extent of human chemical exposure, generate new research hypotheses and provide early warning support to policy. Whilst of growing importance in the environment and food safety areas, respectively, CECs remain poorly addressed in the field of human biomonitoring. This shortfall is due to several scientific and methodological reasons, including a global lack of harmonisation. In this context, the main aim of this paper is to present an overview of the basic principles, promises and challenges of suspect and non-targeted screening approaches applied to human samples as this specific field introduce major specificities compared to other fields. Focused on liquid chromatography coupled to HRMS-based data acquisition methods, this overview addresses all steps of these new analytical workflows. Beyond this general picture, the main activities carried out on this topic within the particular framework of the European Human Biomonitoring initiative (project HBM4EU, 2017-2021) are described, with an emphasis on harmonisation measures.

• Klíčová slova
• Biomonitoring, Chemical of emerging concern, High resolution mass spectrometry, Metabolites, Non-targeted screening, Suspect screening,
• MeSH
• biologický monitoring * MeSH
• chromatografie kapalinová MeSH
• environmentální zdraví MeSH
• látky znečišťující životní prostředí * analýza   toxicita   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
• vystavení vlivu životního prostředí analýza   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• látky znečišťující životní prostředí * MeSH

There is growing worry that drinking water can be affected by contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), potentially threatening human health. In this study, a wide range of CECs (n = 177), including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and other compounds, were analysed in raw water and in drinking water collected from drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in Europe and Asia (n = 13). The impact of human activities was reflected in large numbers of compounds detected (n = 115) and high variation in concentrations in the raw water (range 15-7995 ng L-1 for ∑177CECs). The variation was less pronounced in drinking water, with total concentration ranging from 35 to 919 ng L-1. Treatment efficiency was on average 65 ± 28%, with wide variation between different DWTPs. The DWTP with the highest ∑CEC concentrations in raw water had the most efficient treatment procedure (average treatment efficiency 89%), whereas the DWTP with the lowest ∑177CEC concentration in the raw water had the lowest average treatment efficiency (2.3%). Suspect screening was performed for 500 compounds ranked high as chemicals of concern for drinking water, using a prioritisation tool (SusTool). Overall, 208 features of interest were discovered and three were confirmed with reference standards. There was co-variation between removal efficiency in DWTPs for the target compounds and the suspected features detected using suspect screening, implying that removal of known contaminants can be used to predict overall removal of potential CECs for drinking water production. Our results can be of high value for DWTPs around the globe in their planning for future treatment strategies to meet the increasing concern about human exposure to unknown CECs present in their drinking water.

• Klíčová slova
• Contaminants of emerging concern, Drinking water, High-resolution mass spectrometry, Removal efficiency, Suspect screening, Water treatment,
• MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu * analýza   MeSH
• čištění vody * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
• pitná voda * analýza   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Asie MeSH
• Evropa MeSH
• Názvy látek
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu * MeSH
• pitná voda * MeSH

A special initiative was run by the Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) Network to provide atmospheric data on a range of emerging chemicals of concern and candidate and new persistent organic pollutants in the Group of Latin America and Caribbean (GRULAC) region. Regional-scale data for a range of flame retardants (FRs) including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophosphate esters (OPEs), and a range of alternative FRs (novel FRs) are reported over 2 years of sampling with low detection frequencies of the novel FRs. Atmospheric concentrations of the OPEs were an order of magnitude higher than all other FRs, with similar profiles at all sites. Regional-scale background concentrations of the poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including the neutral PFAS (n-PFAS) and perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), and the volatile methyl siloxanes (VMS) are also reported. Ethyl perfluorooctane sulfonamide (EtFOSA) was detected at highly elevated concentrations in Brazil and Colombia, in line with the use of the pesticide sulfluramid in this region. Similar concentrations of the perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFAS) were detected throughout the GRULAC region regardless of location type, and the VMS concentrations in air increased with the population density of sampling locations. This is the first report of atmospheric concentrations of the PFAAs and VMS from this region.

• MeSH
• halogenované difenylethery MeSH
• látky znečišťující životní prostředí * MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
• retardanty hoření * MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Brazílie MeSH
• karibský region MeSH
• Kolumbie MeSH
• Latinská Amerika MeSH
• Názvy látek
• halogenované difenylethery MeSH
• látky znečišťující životní prostředí * MeSH
• retardanty hoření * MeSH

Contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) are a focus in marine protection. Several CECs are released with wastewater effluents to coastal environments and their offshore occurrence has been recently documented. Routine monitoring is key for implementing marine protection acts, however infrastructural, financial, and technical limitations hinder this task along broad spatial transects. Here we show the efficacy of a new infrastructure enabling unmanned sampling of surface water from ships of opportunity in providing reliable and cost-effective routine monitoring of CECs along a Europe-Arctic transect. The distribution and long-range transport of several pharmaceuticals and personal care products, artificial food additives, and stimulants were assessed. Validation of operations through strict procedural and analytical quality criteria is presented. A framework to estimate a compound-specific spatial range (SR) index of marine long-range transport based on monitoring results and information on source spatial distribution, is introduced. Estimated SR values ranged 50-350 km depending on compound, yielding a ranking of long-range transport potential which reflected expectations based on degradation half-lives. SR values were used to calculate prior maps of detection probability that can be used to plan future routine monitoring in the region.

• Klíčová slova
• artificial sweeteners, carbamazepine, marine environments, marine long-range transport, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, sucralose,
• MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu * analýza   MeSH
• lodě MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí * MeSH
• odpadní voda analýza   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH
• Názvy látek
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu * MeSH
• odpadní voda MeSH

The occurrence and fluxes of 18 priority substances and emerging pollutants listed in the European Union Water Framework Directive and a Watch List (trace metals (Cd, Pb and Ni), nonylphenols, octylphenols, 8 polyaromatic hydrocarbons, 4 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls and diclofenac) were investigated in a Ukrainian city and the mass discharge loads of these compounds into EU-transboundary watersheds were estimated. Fluxes of chemicals were calculated per capita and per area of the Ukrainian urban territory and used to estimate mass loading of priority and emerging concern compounds from Lviv, Uzhorod and Chernivtsi (West Ukraine) to neighbouring EU-transboundary rivers. The highest loading was found for trace metals (1.15 t a-1), diclofenac (0.7 t a-1) and nonylphenols (0.4 t a-1). Transboundary water contamination must be considered in order to successfully manage water resources in a manner that fulfils the requirements of EU environmental quality standards.

• Klíčová slova
• Diclofenac, Emerging pollutants, PAH, PCB, Transboundary water, Water framework directive,
• MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu analýza   MeSH
• diklofenak analýza   MeSH
• fenoly analýza   MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí * MeSH
• polychlorované bifenyly analýza   MeSH
• řeky chemie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Ukrajina MeSH
• Názvy látek
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu MeSH
• diklofenak MeSH
• fenoly MeSH
• nonylphenol MeSH Prohlížeč
• polychlorované bifenyly MeSH

BACKGROUND: The NORMAN Association (https://www.norman-network.com/) initiated the NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN-SLE; https://www.norman-network.com/nds/SLE/) in 2015, following the NORMAN collaborative trial on non-target screening of environmental water samples by mass spectrometry. Since then, this exchange of information on chemicals that are expected to occur in the environment, along with the accompanying expert knowledge and references, has become a valuable knowledge base for "suspect screening" lists. The NORMAN-SLE now serves as a FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) chemical information resource worldwide. RESULTS: The NORMAN-SLE contains 99 separate suspect list collections (as of May 2022) from over 70 contributors around the world, totalling over 100,000 unique substances. The substance classes include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals, pesticides, natural toxins, high production volume substances covered under the European REACH regulation (EC: 1272/2008), priority contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and regulatory lists from NORMAN partners. Several lists focus on transformation products (TPs) and complex features detected in the environment with various levels of provenance and structural information. Each list is available for separate download. The merged, curated collection is also available as the NORMAN Substance Database (NORMAN SusDat). Both the NORMAN-SLE and NORMAN SusDat are integrated within the NORMAN Database System (NDS). The individual NORMAN-SLE lists receive digital object identifiers (DOIs) and traceable versioning via a Zenodo community (https://zenodo.org/communities/norman-sle), with a total of > 40,000 unique views, > 50,000 unique downloads and 40 citations (May 2022). NORMAN-SLE content is progressively integrated into large open chemical databases such as PubChem (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and the US EPA's CompTox Chemicals Dashboard (https://comptox.epa.gov/dashboard/), enabling further access to these lists, along with the additional functionality and calculated properties these resources offer. PubChem has also integrated significant annotation content from the NORMAN-SLE, including a classification browser (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/classification/#hid=101). CONCLUSIONS: The NORMAN-SLE offers a specialized service for hosting suspect screening lists of relevance for the environmental community in an open, FAIR manner that allows integration with other major chemical resources. These efforts foster the exchange of information between scientists and regulators, supporting the paradigm shift to the "one substance, one assessment" approach. New submissions are welcome via the contacts provided on the NORMAN-SLE website (https://www.norman-network.com/nds/SLE/). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12302-022-00680-6.

• Klíčová slova
• Chemicals of emerging concern, Cheminformatics, Data exchange, Environmental contaminants, Exposomics, FAIR (Findable Accessible Interoperable Reusable) data, High resolution mass spectrometry, Non-target screening, Open science, Suspect screening,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

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.

• Klíčová slova
• Contaminants of emerging concern - passive sampling, Hazard profiling - water quality monitoring, In vitro bioassay - endocrine disruption,
• MeSH
• biotest MeSH
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu analýza   MeSH
• dioxiny analýza   MeSH
• endokrinní disruptory analýza   MeSH
• estrogeny analýza   MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí * MeSH
• odpadní voda MeSH
• organické látky analýza   MeSH
• pesticidy analýza   MeSH
• polychlorované bifenyly analýza   MeSH
• polychlorované dibenzodioxiny analýza   MeSH
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky analýza   MeSH
• řeky chemie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Bosna a Hercegovina MeSH
• Názvy látek
• chemické látky znečišťující vodu MeSH
• dioxiny MeSH
• endokrinní disruptory MeSH
• estrogeny MeSH
• odpadní voda MeSH
• organické látky MeSH
• pesticidy MeSH
• polychlorované bifenyly MeSH
• polychlorované dibenzodioxiny MeSH
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky MeSH