Occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk of pharmaceuticals in a seasonally ice-sealed river: From ice formation to melting

[Display omitted] •Pharmaceuticals are investigated in a river during its freeze–thaw periods.•Ice regulates temporal variation of pharmaceuticals.•Pharmaceuticals can be retained by the ice during river’s freeze–thaw periods.•Release of thiamphenicol from ice elevates its ecological risk level. Occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk of 21 pharmaceuticals in the Jilin Songhua River were investigated during its freeze–thaw periods, including ice formation, sealed, and breakup. Florfenicol was the most abundant pharmaceutical, with mean concentrations of 123.4 ± 61.1 ng L−1 in water and 73.8 ± 66.3 ng kg−1 in ice. Sulfadiazine occurred at a higher mean concentration in downstream areas (45.6 ± 7.4 ng L−1) than in upstream areas (0.7 ± 0.7 ng L−1). Most pharmaceuticals appeared in relatively high concentrations in water during the ice-breakup period. Complex factors including pharmaceutical usage patterns, ice-regulated photodegradation, biodegradation, water flow, and freeze-concentration effects, as well as the release of pharmaceuticals from ice, were responsible for the temporal variation of pharmaceuticals. Pseudo-ice/water distribution coefficients showed the distribution of pharmaceuticals in ice and demonstrated the effects of their release from the ice on their temporal variations. Most pharmaceuticals posed a risk to algae; of these, amoxicillin exhibited the highest risk. In addition, thawing increased the concentration of thiamphenicol in water, which elevated its ecological risk level. The findings suggest that the pharmaceuticals retained in ice should be considered with regard to regulating pharmaceuticals’ temporal variations in seasonal ice-covered rivers during the freeze–thaw process.