The most characteristic pollutants from human consumption reach the most remote areas of the planet, formerly pristine lands. Human activity is negatively impacting Antarctic water quality. Pharmaceutical products (including antidepressants), nicotine and caffeine, as well as UV filters are some of the substances with high persistence, dispersion capacity and toxicity that have been found in the southern continent.
This has been revealed by a study carried out by the Institute for Environmental Diagnosis and Water Studies (IDAEA-CSIC) in collaboration with the University of Granada, the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME-CSIC) and the Autonomous University of Madrid .
The work has detected the presence of 10 organic pollutants of emerging concern in freshwater and coastal marine waters of the Antarctic continent.
The samples analyzed come from many different sources, including areas with human activity such as bases, camps, and tourism, as well as areas with no apparent human or animal presence. There has been the human trace: drugs, nicotine and coffee derivatives.
The results published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, show the presence of seven pharmaceutical products (the analgesics acetaminophen, diclofenac and ibuprofen; the regulator of cholesterol and triglycerides in blood bezafibrate; the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide; the antibiotic clarithromycin; and the antidepressants citalopram and venlafaxine), nicotine and caffeine, the UV filter benzophenone-1 and the industrial anticorrosive product tolitriazole. Sun creams also leave a persistent footprint on the environment.
“Nicotine and the antidepressant citalopram had not been studied before in Antarctica and we found them in 74% and 55% of the samples, respectively,” says Miren López de Alda, a researcher at the IDAEA-CSIC.
“The rest of the substances were included in the study because, although they had already been detected previously, they presented a moderate or high toxicological risk for aquatic organisms,” he remarks.
The work has classified the organic contaminants identified based on their presence in the collected samples and their hazard index, which includes the potential for bioaccumulation, persistence and aquatic toxicity.
Cristina Postigo, a researcher at the University of Granada and first signatory to the article, highlights: “After the risk assessment carried out, the substances that arouse the greatest concern in this region are citalopram, clarithromycin, nicotine, venlafaxine and hydrochlorothiazide. , which should continue to be monitored in Antarctic waters and biota in the futureâ€.
The work also shows that anthropogenic contamination is not only localized in places where scientific activity and tourism take place, but that it spreads to more remote areas.
This implies that chemical contamination can be influenced by different environmental processes, such as re-emission from ice and atmospheric deposition.
In view of these results, the authors emphasize that the Antarctic Treaty System, and especially the Committee for the Protection of the Antarctic Environment, should strengthen measures to reduce the impact of human presence in Antarctica.
