Sediment enrichment with TiO2 engineered nanomaterials from the use of sunscreens

Autor(en)

Andreas Gondikas, Frank von der Kammer, Elisabeth Neubauer, Thilo Hofmann, Robert Bruce Reed, Ralf Kaegi

Abstrakt

Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are used in consumer products and are released in the environment in which they are likely to participate in biogeochemical reactions that may have adverse environmental effects. Predicting the fate and reactivity of the ENPs in an environmental system is a challenging task that incorporates a great deal of assumptions. In order to accurately determine the fate of ENPs released in natural systems, it is necessary to develop methods for measuring them in real-world systems.
In this work, we study the release of TiO2 ENPs from sunscreens into surface waters during bathing activities. We use previous lab-scale studies to predict the fate of TiO2 ENPs and then test several methods for detecting them in the environment. The Old Danube Lake in Vienna, Austria was used for our study, due to its intensive use for bathing activities by the Viennese people during the summer, combined with low water inflow and outflow rates. In order to quantify the release, we first used several a mass-based approach: we studied temporal trends of Ti elemental ratios in bulk samples from the lake’s suspended matter over a period of 18 months. In addition, we studied spatial and temporal trends of Ti elemental ratios in the sediments of the lake.
Our mass-based analysis indicated the release of TiO2 ENPs during the summer season, most likely from the use of sunscreen and its wash-off during bathing activities. However, the increase of Ti elemental ratios was not linear during the summer, indicating simultaneous release and removal of the particles from the water column, likely caused by hetero-aggregation and sedimentation of the particles. Bulk elemental analysis of sediment samples collected throughout the lake’s area revealed pockets with increased Ti elemental ratios. Analysis of sediment cores also revealed increasing Ti elemental ratios with time. Our results demonstrate that settling on the lake’s sediment is the most likely fate of the TiO2 ENPs. However, their presence there is overwhelmed by a plethora of naturally occurring TiO2 particles.

Organisation(en)

Externe Organisation(en)

Colorado School of Mines, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Eidgenössische Anstalt für Wasserversorgung, Abwasserreinigung und Gewässerschutz

Anzahl der Seiten

1

Publikationsdatum

2015

ÖFOS 2012

210001 Nanoanalytik, 105906 Umweltgeowissenschaften, 104002 Analytische Chemie, 104023 Umweltchemie

Schlagwörter

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/027e1631-d0ed-4dd7-b211-9f22c46cd879