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Organophosphate ester flame retardants (OPFRs) are ubiquitous organic pollutants in the environment and present an important preoccupation due to their potential toxicity to humans and biota. They can be found in various sources, including consumer products, building materials, transportation industry, electronic devices, textiles and clothing, and recycling and waste management. This paper presents the first survey of its kind in Romania, investigating the composition, distribution, possible sources, and environmental risks of OPFRs in five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and the rivers receiving their effluents. Samples from WWTPs and surface waters were collected and subjected to extraction processes to determine the OPFRs using liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. All the target OPFRs were found in all the matrices, with the average concentrations ranging from 0.6 to 1422 ng/L in wastewater, 0.88 to 1851 ng/g dry weight (d.w.) in sewage sludge, and 0.73 to 1036 ng/L in surface waters. The dominant compound in all the cases was tri(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP). This study observed that the wastewater treatment process was inefficient, with removal efficiencies below 50% for all five WWTPs. The environmental risk assessment indicated that almost all the targeted OPFRs pose a low risk, while TDCPP, TCPP, and TMPP could pose a moderate risk to certain aquatic species. These findings provide valuable information for international pollution research and enable the development of pollution control strategies.

A high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) analytical method was developed for the simultaneous detection of 17 phenolic compounds, including phenols, chlorophenols, alkylphenols, and nitrophenols, in two types of water matrices: wastewater and surface water. Prior to HPLC-DAD determination, a solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure was optimized. The proposed method uses multiwavelength analysis, with the optimum detection wavelengths selected as 268 nm, 280 nm, 386 nm, 304 nm, and 316 nm. The highest resolution was achieved using a chromatographic column, Eclipse XDB-C18 (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm), which was kept at 20 °C. The mobile phase consisted of a gradient elution program, with mobile phase A being a 0.1% H3PO4 aqueous solution and mobile phase B being acetonitrile. The flow rate was set at 0.6 mL/min. The 17 target phenolic compounds were fully separated in less than 27 min. All compounds showed good linear regression, with correlation coefficients higher than 0.999. The method’s quantitation limits ranged from 4.38 to 89.7 ng/L for surface water and 7.83 to 167 ng/L for wastewater. The recovery rates were in the range of 86.2–95.1% for surface water and 79.1–86.3% for wastewater. The SPE-HPLC-DAD method was proven to be fast, sensitive, accurate, and reproducible. The developed method was successfully applied for the analysis of the 17 phenolic compounds in real surface water and wastewater samples, with phenol, 2,4-DNP, and 2,4-DNP being determined at levels greater than the method’s limits of quantitation (LOQs). The proposed analytical method represents an original technical resource for the simultaneous determination of 17 phenolic compounds in environmental water matrices.

Organic sun-blocking agents are recognized as emerging pollutants of the aquatic environment. The consequences and effects of these harmful substances on aquatic organisms are not fully understood, particularly in the context of Romania. This study examines the presence and environmental hazards posed by ten UV filters found in the Danube River. Six of the ten targeted contaminants were detected in surface water samples: 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-benzophenone (BP-3), 2,4-dihydroxy benzophenone (BP-1), 2,3,4-trihydroxy benzophenone (234HBP), 2,2′-dihydroxy-4-methoxy-benzophenone (BP-8), 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-4′-methyl-benzophenone (BP-10), and benzyl salicylate (BS). In sediment samples, seven of the ten compounds were identified: BS, BP-3, 4-hydroxybenzophenone (4HBP), BP-1, 234HBP, 2,2′,4,4′-tetrahydroxybenzophenone (BP-2), and BP-10, with different frequencies. The correlation coefficients showed strong relationships between benzophenone derivatives in surface water samples and a common contamination source for BP-3 and BS in sediment samples. In the assessment, the risk quotient (RQ) for BP-1 in fish was determined to be 1.81. Similarly, RQ values for BP-3 were calculated as 1.24 for Daphnia magna and 57 for fish, suggesting that these UV filters could potentially present substantial hazards to the aquatic ecosystem. The study findings indicate that additional research is needed to investigate the presence and potential risks of organic sun-blocking agents in surface waters, with a particular emphasis on densely populated areas in Romania.

The perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a persistent class of synthetic chemicals that spread in the environment as a result of industrialization. Due to their bioaccumulative and endocrine disruption implications, these chemicals can affect food quality and human health, respectively. In the present study, the bioconcentration and biotransformation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) were evaluated in a biphasic system (exposure and depuration). Carp were continuously exposed, under laboratory conditions, to 10 (Experiment 1) and 100 (Experiment 2) µg/L PFOA for 14 weeks, followed by a wash out period of 3 weeks. Fish organs and tissues were collected at 8, 12, 14 weeks of exposure and at week 17, after the depuration period. The results obtained from the LC-MS/MS analysis showed the presence of PFOA in all studied organs. The highest values of PFOA were identified in the gallbladder (up to 2572 ng/g d.w.) in Experiment 1 and in the gallbladder (up to 18,640 ng/g d.w.) and kidneys (up to 13,581 ng/g d.w.) in Experiment 2. The average BCF varied between 13.4 and 158 L/Kg in Experiment 1 and between 5.97 and 80.3 L/Kg in Experiment 2. Four biotransformation products were identified and quantified in all organs, namely: PFBA, PFPeA, PFHxA, and PFHpA. PFBA was proven to be the dominant biotransformation product, with the highest values being determined after 8 weeks of exposure in the kidney, gallbladder, brain, liver, and gonads in both experiments. Because freshwater fish are an important food resource for the human diet, the present study showed the fishes’ capacity to accumulate perfluoroalkyl substances and their metabolites. The study revealed the necessity of monitoring and risk studies of new and modern synthetic chemicals in aquatic resources.

Organic UV-filters, such as oxybenzone (BP-3), have attracted researcher attention in recent years due to its capacity to interfere with the proper functioning of the endocrine system and its widespread presence in the aquatic environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the bioconcentration, distribution and metabolization of BP-3 in one of the most common fish species in Romania, namely Cyprinus carp (European carp). Exposure experiments were performed for 11 weeks using a BP-3 nominal concentration level of 100 µg/L. The BP-3 concentration level decreased over time and needed to be re-established daily. Biological samples (fish organs and tissues) from control and test were taken at t0 (before contamination) and at t3, t5, t8 and t11 weeks from the beginning of the experiment. From the third week, BP-3 was identified and quantified, in all organs, in concentration values ranging between 3.2 and 782 ng/g d.w., the highest concentration being detected in the intestinal content, followed by gonads (up to 468 ng/g d.w.) and skin (up to 453 ng/g d.w.). In the case of gill and liver, the BP-3 concentration increased in the first five weeks, and then decreased to 15 and 6 ng/g d.w., respectively, which could be explained by a fast BP-3 metabolization. During the exposure period, six metabolites were identified through LC-MS/MS, all of them known for their endocrine disruptor and toxic properties being higher than those of the parent compound. The study is important from an ecological perspective and also in view of human health concerns involving food quality.

This study presents an adsorbent material (activated carbon) used in the treatment of wastewater with the role of removing ibuprofen, acetaminophen, diclofenac and ketoprofen pollutants. The wastewater treatment efficiencies of the activated carbon were systematically investigated using adsorption kinetics. The parameters studied were: pH (4 and 6 values of pH), initial concentration of wastewater (1, 5, and 10 mg/L), contact time (10 min), adsorbent quantity (0.1, 0.5, and 1 g), and isotherm models (Langmuir and Freundlich). The highest wastewater treatment efficiency was obtained at the 6 pH value. The determination of four anti-inflammatory drugs, frequently monitored in wastewater, was performed by a simple and fast method using the HPLC-technique-type DAD (diode array detector). The method was linear when the concentration ranged between 0.5 and 20 m/L for all compounds. The equilibrium concentration was obtained after 8 min. The octanol/water coefficient influenced the removal efficiency of the four drugs by the adsorbent material (activated carbon). The dose of activated carbon (0.1 to 1 g) significantly influenced the efficiency of wastewater treatment, which increased considerably when the dose of the adsorbent material increased. Using 1 g of the adsorbent material for the treatment of wastewater containing 1 mg/L initial concentration of pollutant compounds, the efficiencies were 98% for acetaminophen, 92% for diclofenac, 88% for ketoprofen and 96% for ibuprofen.