Retrospective nationwide occurrence of fipronil and its degradates in U.S. wastewater and sewage sludge from 2001 - 2016.

ABSTRACT: The insecticide fipronil is under regulatory scrutiny worldwide for its toxicity to pollinators and aquatic invertebrates. We conducted the first U.S. nationwide, longitudinal study of sewage sludges for fiproles, i.e., the sum of fipronil and its major degradates (fipronil sulfone, sulfide, amide, and desulfinyl). Archived sludges (n = 109) collected in three campaigns over 15 years were analyzed by isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, revealing ubiquitous fiprole occurrence (0.2-385.3 μg/kg) since 2001 and a significant increase (2.4 ± 0.3 fold; p < 0.005) both from 2001 to 2006/7 and from 2001 to 2015/6, but not a significant increase from 2006/7 to 2015/6 (p = 0.275). A geospatial analysis showed fiprole levels in municipal sludges to be uncoupled from agric

SUBMITTER: Sadaria AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6506233 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature