Porewater and surface water analysis in the tidal freshwater Potomac River for the presence of pharmaceutical and personal care products

Hunter, Carissa

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/109902 Copy

Description

Title

Porewater and surface water analysis in the tidal freshwater Potomac River for the presence of pharmaceutical and personal care products

Author(s)

Hunter, Carissa

Issue Date

2021-04-27

Keyword(s)

• PPCPs
• pharmaceutical

Abstract

Presented by: Carissa Hunter – Student at George Mason University, chunte14@gmu.edu Co-authors: Carissa Hunter, Gregory Foster Abstract: Porewater is the water held between the pores within soil or sediment, and it is a very under-studied sub-compartment in environmental chemistry. It can provide valuable information regarding environmental fate because it regulates the transport of chemicals into and out of sediment. Surface water and porewater were collected at two sites in the tidal freshwater Potomac River, in order to analyze the presence of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs). Surface water was collected using a submersible pump, while porewater was collected using a stainless-steel Push Point Sampler. Water samples were filtered and then extracted using Supel- Select HLB solid-phase extraction cartridges. Elution with 2 X 0.5 mL of acetonitrile was done prior to analyzing by liquid chromatography- mass spectrometry. It was found that Triamterene, Metoprolol, Propranolol, Fexofenadine and Glipizide showed high concentrations in both surface water and pore water at both sites with concentrations of 0.015-56 ng/L. Porewater concentrations, however were higher in the samples from Anacostia Waterfront Park in comparison to Kenwilworth Marsh, where surface water concentrations were higher. This is expected as Anacostia Park is located adjacent to a wastewater treatment plant with potential accumulation of PPCPs on sediment, where no known source is near Kenwilworth Marsh. Biography: Carissa Hunter earned her B.S degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Howard University in 2015. Since then, she earned a M.S degree in Chemistry (2018) from George Mason University, and is now pursuing her PhD at GMU under the guidance of Dr. Gregory Foster. Her research interests include studying micro-pollutants and their ecological risks to human health and wildlife, whilst using LCMS for analysis. Carissa enjoys spending time with family and friends outside of research.

Series/Report Name or Number

2021 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference (ECEC21)

Type of Resource

• text
• still image

Language

en

Permalink

• http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109902
• https://youtu.be/3ifjdaCOffQ

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