Occurrence of widely used organic UV filters in lake and river sediments

Environmental context Personal care products containing organic chemicals to filter the sun’s UV rays are produced and used on a broad scale worldwide. Consequently, these organic UV filters are now widespread in the environment. We investigate the occurrence of seven common organic UV filters in river and lake sediments thereby providing valuable data for the future environmental risk assessment of these chemicals to the benthic community of freshwater ecosystems. Abstract Personal care products (PCPs) are produced and used in huge amounts. These formulations are permanently introduced into the aquatic environment during regular use, mainly through municipal sewage treatment plants. Although there is increasing concern about PCP residues in the aquatic environment, little is known about the extent and level of contamination. The occurrence and concentrations of the seven most frequently used ultraviolet (UV) filters in river and lake sediments have been investigated over a 6-month period by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry: benzophenone-3 (BP-3), 3-benzyliden camphor (3-BC), butyl-methoxydibenzoylmethane (B-MDM), ethylhexyl dimethyl p-aminobenzoic acid (ED-PABA), ethylhexyl-methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 3′-(4′-methylbenzyliden)camphor (4-MBC) and octocrylene (OCR). B-MDM, EHMC and OCR were identified as major contaminants. They were present in every sediment sample with maximum concentrations of 62.2, 6.8 and 642 µg kg–1. 3-BC and ED-PABA could not be detected in any sediment sample. The temporal distribution profile and concentrations of UV filters differed between lakes and rivers. Whereas concentrations of all UV filters in river sediments were low and constant over time, lake sediments exhibited high UV-filter levels during summer and concentrations dropped in autumn. These findings support risk assessment activities and contribute to a better understanding of the magnitude of contamination with organic UV-filter substances in aquatic ecosystems.