United States Office of Water EPA-820-F-13-004
Environmental Protection Agency 4305T September 2013
Contaminants of Emerging
Concern (CECs) in Fish:
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs)
About PPCPs
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a diverse group of chemicals that include all
drugs (both prescription and over-the-counter medications) and non-medicinal consumer chemicals,
such as the fragrances (musks) in lotions and soaps and the ultraviolet filters in sunscreens. PPCPs
have only recently received attention as potential environmental pollutants. Results from studies in
the past several years provide evidence that many PPCPs enter aquatic systems because they persist
through wastewater treatment processes and are subsequently discharged from wastewater treatment
plants into surface water or groundwater. New developments in technology have led to improvements
in detecting and quantifying PPCPs in water, sediments, and fish tissue. However, despite recent
advances in PPCP research, the full extent, magnitude and consequences of their presence in aquatic
environments are still largely unknown.
Why Is Studying PPCPs in Fish Important?
PPCPs are persistent in aquatic environments due to their continual release from discharges of treated and
untreated wastewater. By the mid-2000s, there were increasing reports of the occurrence of PPCPs in surface
waters and sediments, but data on their accumulation in fish tissue were scarce. Available data suggest
that effects of these chemicals may be subtle because PPCPs generally occur at low concentrations in the
environment, but these subtle effects may accumulate and become significant. Current concerns associated
with PPCP contamination include increases in resistance to antibiotics and endocrine system disruption.
How Is EPA Responding?
In 2006, EPA responded to the PPCP data gap by initiating a pilot study to investigate the occurrence of PPCPs
in fish tissue. This was the first screening study of PPCPs in fish from a variety of locations distributed across the
country. Based on results from the pilot study, EPA expanded its effort to characterize PPCP contamination in U.S.
fish by planning and conducting a national-scale study of fish from urban rivers under EPAs National Rivers and
Streams Assessment. The urban river study generated data on concentrations of musks in fillets from freshwater
fish. Musks are fragrances added to personal care products, such
as soaps and lotions. EPA established partnerships to conduct the
following studies:
• National Pilot Study of PPCPs in Fish Tissue (2006-2009)
• National Rivers and Streams Assessment (2008-2014)
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National Pilot Study of PPCPs in Fish Tissue
(PPCP Fish Pilot Study)
First broad screening-level study of PPCPs in U.S. fish
PPCP Fish Pilot Study Design
Design Elements
Number of Sites
Site Selection
Sampling Period
Fish Samples/Site
Fish Tissue Samples
Chemical Analysis
Total Samples Analyzed
Pharmaceuticals
Personal Care Products
5 Effluent-dominated streams + 1 reference site
Targeted
2006
6
Fillets and Livers
24
72
Targeted
2006
6
Fillets only
12
36
PPCP Results
• Seven of the 24 Pharmaceuticals and two of
the 12 personal care product chemicals were
detected in the fish tissue samples; antihistamines,
antidepressants, and musks were the most
prevalent PPCPs.
• Most Pharmaceuticals occurred at concentrations
in the low parts per billion (ppb), while the musks
commonly occurred at concentrations in the low
parts per million (ppm).
• Fewer PPCPs were detected in fish from discharge
areas where facilities apply advanced wastewater
treatment technologies, such as ozonation.
PPCP Fish Tissue Pilot Study Sampling Locations
Publications
• PPCP Fish Pilot Study Article (Environmental
Toxicology and Chemistry, 2009)
• National Pilot Study of PPCPs in Fish Tissue
(Final Report, 2013)
Collaborators with EPA
• Baylor University Center for Reservoir and
Aquatic Systems Research
• Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of
Greater Chicago
• New Mexico Environment Department
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National Rivers and Streams Assessment
CEC and Legacy Fish Tissue Contamination Studies
First statistically based national assessment of contaminants in fish from U.S. rivers
NRSA Fish Sampling Locations (542)
Sites
• Urban Rivers (164)
• Non-urban Rivers (378)
Study Design
• 164 randomly selected urban river segments
sampled in the lower 48 states during 2008 and
2009
• Five fish collected per site to form one composite
sample for fillet analysis because people typically
consume fillets
• Fillets analyzed for 6 musks
• Fillet results for other CECs (PFCs) from the
164 urban river sites
• Additional fillet results for PBDEs and legacy
contaminants (mercury, selenium, PCBs, and
pesticides) from the full set of 542 river sites
sampled for fish
Report
Musk
Results
Future Musk
Milestones
Complete Analysis of
Musk Data
For additional information contact:
Leanne Stahl at stahl.leanne@epa.gov
or access http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/fishstudies/
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