Assessing the distributions and fate of household and personal care chemicals (HPCCs) in the Songhua Catchment, Northeast China

Many household and personal care chemicals (HPCCs) are of environmental concern due to their potential toxicity to humans and wildlife. However, few studies investigate the spatiotemporal variations and fate of HPCCs in large-scale river systems. Here, river water and sediment samples from the Songhua River in Northeast China were analyzed for seven classes of HPCCs. Correlation analysis suggested similar sources and environmental behavior for compounds from the same HPCC classes. In the river water, the concentrations of most HPCCs in the cold season were significantly higher than that of the warm season (p < 0.01). Significantly higher levels of target compounds were found in the downstream water samples of a city, suggesting the influence of human activities on the distributions of HPCCs. The concentrations and distributions of most HPCCs were controlled by primary emission sources. The derived dissolved concentrations of HPCCs suggested that small amounts of caffeine and parabens were partitioned onto particles, while large amounts of many other HPCCs were bound to the particle phase. Water-sediment distribution coefficients (log K_d) ranged from 1.59 for caffeine to 3.95 for benzalkonium chloride-C14. This work presents new insights into the environmental behavior of HPCCs and the factors affecting their fate in river systems.