Widespread Surveillance of Emerging Contaminants in the Yamuna River Basin: Evaluation of Surface Water, Sediments, Groundwater, and Aquatic Plants

Anthropogenic activities release hundreds of emerging contaminants (ECs) into the environment. Treated or partially treated wastewater carries ECs, metabolites, and transformation products (TPs) to nearby surface waters, contaminating the majority of the river ecosystem. The present study discussed the occurrence of 32 ECs in different environmental matrices of the Yamuna River Basin including wastewater, surface water, sediments, groundwater, and aquatic biota. The concentration of estrone was detected at highest concentrations ranging from not detected to 28,532.2 ng/L in the aqueous matrices, while in the solid matrices, the concentration ranged from not detected to 504,274.6 ng/kg. Apart from estrone, 17β estradiol, bisphenol A, and caffeine were also detected at elevated levels in all the sample matrices with concentrations equal to 2552.2, 4500.5, and 5562.8 ng/L, respectively, in aqueous samples and 153,2.1 454,451.7, and 213,916.6 ng/kg, respectively, in solid samples. Reports on the levels of ECs in aquatic biota, especially in plants, are sparse and require attention. Bioaccumulation factors between sediment and biota highlighted the higher affinity of the ECs toward biota. The study identified 21 metabolites and TPs in surface water and sediment samples.