Emerging contaminant exposure to aquatic systems in the Southern African Developmental Community
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Selwe, Kgato
Thorn, Jessica
Desrousseaux, Alizee OH
Dessent, Caroline EH
Sallach, J Brett
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The growing production and use of chemicals and the resultant increase in environmental exposure is of particular concern in developing countries where there is rapid industrialization and population growth but limited information on the occurrence of emerging contaminants. Advances in analytical techniques now allow for the monitoring of emerging contaminants at very low concentrations with the potential to cause harmful ecotoxicological effects. Therefore, we provide the first critical assessment of the current state of knowledge about chemical exposure in waters of the Southern African Developmental Community (SADC). We achieved this through a comprehensive literature review and the creation of a database of chemical monitoring data. Of the 59 articles reviewed, most (n = 36; 61.0%) were from South Africa, and the rest were from Botswana (n = 6; 10.2%), Zimbabwe (n = 6; 10.2%), Malawi (n = 3; 5.1%), Mozambique (n = 3; 5.1%), Zambia (n = 2; 3.4%), Angola (n = 1; 1.7%), Madagascar (n = 1; 1.7%), and Tanzania (n = 1; 1.7%). No publications were found from the remaining seven SADC countries. Emerging contaminants have only been studied in South Africa and Botswana. The antiretroviral drug ritonavir (64.52 µg/L) was detected at the highest average concentration, and ibuprofen (17 times) was detected most frequently. Despite being the primary water source in the region, groundwater was understudied (only 13 studies). High emerging contaminant concentrations in surface waters indicate the presence of secondary sources of pollution such as sewage leakage. We identify research gaps and propose actions to assess and reduce chemical pollution to enable the SADC to address the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 3.9, to reduce the deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and contamination.
Date Issued
2022-02-01
Date Acceptance
2021-12-28
Citation
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2022, 41 (2), pp.382-395
ISSN
0730-7268
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
382
End Page
395
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Volume
41
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Authors This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35020964
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Environmental Sciences
Toxicology
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
Africa
Aquatic systems
Emerging contaminants
Environment
South African Devlopmental Community
PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS
TIME-OF-FLIGHT
WASTE-WATER
SURFACE-WATER
GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY
MASS-SPECTROMETRY
PHARMACEUTICAL RESIDUES
ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS
MSUNDUZI RIVER
VAAL RIVER
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Article Number
2
Date Publish Online
2022-01-12