Identification of new emerging pollutants in surface water using suspect screening analysis and prioritisation strategies based on regulatory databases
Emerging pollutants (EP) have the potential to enter the water system and cause adverse ecological and human health effects while simultaneously not being covered by existing water-quality regulations. However, the existing target analysis methodology only allows the detection of a very small fraction of the substances present in wastewater samples. The new advances in high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and the application of suspect screening, with a suspected screening list based on prior information but with no reference standard, greatly increases the list of substances that can be identified. The present study aims to detect and identify new, potentially hazardous pollutants based on the hypothesis that regulatory databases can assist in the prioritisation of relevant substances.
Data from the Swedish Chemical Agency was used to prioritise compounds based on the occurrence on the market, the consumer tonnages, and the use pattern, among other factors. Out of the approximately 20 000 chemicals present in the database, 143 potential organic pollutants were prioritised and a screening was performed in surface water from different locations in Sweden using a LC-HRMS-based analytical approach. 21 tentative identifications were successfully performed with most substances being formerly out of the focus for environmental scientists (also not included in regulations nor monitoring programs). 16 of those substances were further confirmed with reference standard (the highest number in a study of this nature) showing the efficiency of both, the prioritisation strategy, and the suspect screening approach. Results indicate that the use of regulatory databases is a promising way to enhance identification rates as well as to identify new, potentially hazardous compounds
