Occurrence and distribution of antibiotics in multiple environmental media of the East River (Dongjiang) catchment, South China

The occurrence and distribution of 11 antibiotics in multiple environmental media including river water, suspended particle, sediment, and soil of the East River catchment, South China, were systematically characterized from multiple spatial (area and point) and temporal (seasonal variation and diurnal variation) scales. The results indicated that six to eight antibiotics were detected in these media. The predominant antibiotics and their concentrations varied with environment media because of the varied contamination sources, physicochemical properties of antibiotics, and media. For their spatial distribution, the river environment including water phase, suspended particles, and sediments showed a similar feature with the rule of Cdelta > Clower reach > Cmiddle reach, which may be related to the industrial level and population density. However, the antibiotics in the soils showed a close relationship with the land use types. A diurnal variation of antibiotics at river sections was mainly affected by the tidal change and diurnal domestic sewage discharge feature. Source analysis indicated that domestic sewage was the main source for antibiotic contamination in the river, while irrigation and fertilization using river water and animal wastes were the main reasons for antibiotic contamination in the soils. However, antibiotics may be redistributed in different media in a catchment.