Pharmaceuticals and trace metals in the surface water used for crop irrigation: Risk to health or natural attenuation?

The use of surface water impacted by wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents for crop irrigation is a form of unplanned water reuse. Natural attenuation processes can buffer contamination spreading. However, this practice can promote the exposure of crops to contaminants of emerging concern, such as pharmaceuticals, trace metals (TMs) and metalloids, posing a risk to health. This research aimed to evaluate the presence of 50 pharmaceuticals, some transformation products, 7 TMs and a metalloid in the water-sediment-soil-plant system, and their potential to be bioaccumulated into edible parts of plants, as a result of the unplanned water reuse. The study site consists of an extensive agricultural land downstream Madrid city (Spain) where surface water, strongly impacted by WWTP effluents, is applied through gravity-based systems to cultivate mainly maize. Sampling campaigns were conducted to collect WWTP effluent, surface and irrigation water, river sediments, agricultural soils and maize fruits. Results demonstrate the ubiquitous presence of several pharmaceuticals. The concentration pattern in irrigation water did not resemble the pattern of contents in soils and plants. The pharmaceuticals included in the EU surface water watch lists were quantified in the lowest concentration range (macrolide antibiotics, ciprofloxacin) or were not detected (most of the hormones). Therefore, hormones do not represent an emerging risk in our scenario. The TMs and the metalloid in water and agricultural soils should not arise any concern. Whereas, their presence in the river sediments may have an adverse impact on aquatic ecosystems. Only acetaminophen, ibuprofen, carbamazepine, nicotine, Zn, Cu and Ni were quantified in corn grains. Calculated parameters to assess bioaccumulation and health risk indicate that neither pharmaceuticals nor TMs pose a threat to human health due to consumption of maize cultivated in the area. Results highlight the need to include different environmental matrices when assessing contaminant fate under real field-scale conditions.