Contribution of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) to whole toxicity of water samples collected in effluent-dominated urban streams.

Water samples were collected from effluent-dominated urban streams in Tokushima, Kyoto, and Saitama in Japan to roughly determine the contribution of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and surfactants to whole toxicity of the water. Approximately 100 PPCPs including anionic surfactants such as linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), were chemically analyzed. Using 14 water samples, chronic or sub-chronic toxicity tests were conducted on three aquatic species, the green alga Raphidocelis subcapitata, the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia, and the zebrafish Danio rerio.

Ecotoxicity and screening level ecotoxicological risk assessment of five antimicrobial agents: triclosan, triclocarban, resorcinol, phenoxyethanol and p-thymol.

Acute and chronic (or sub-chronic) toxicity of five selected antimicrobial agents, including triclosan (TCS), triclocarban (TCC), resorcinol, phenoxyethanol and p-thymol, was investigated using the conventional three-aquatic-organism battery. These compounds are widely used in cosmetics and other personal care products and their ecological risk has recently become a significant concern. As results of toxicity tests, TCS was found to be most strongly toxic for green algae [e.