ARS | Publication request: SEASONAL SURVEY FOR ANTIBIOTICS AND HORMONES IN A MAJOR AGRICULTURAL WATERSHED

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 15, 2006
Publication Date: September 19, 2006
Citation: Arikan, O., Rice, C., Codling, E.E. 2006. Seasonal survey for antibiotics and hormones in a major agricultural watershed. Meeting Proceedings. p. 214.

Technical Abstract: Antibiotics and hormones are considered emerging environmental microcontaminants because of their potential adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. Available information on the source of these emerging contaminants in surface waters is very limited. The objective of this study was to determine the seasonal variability of antibiotics and hormones in a Chesapeake Bay agricultural watershed. Water samples were collected from 15 subwatershed stations and 7 sites on the major receiving river, Choptank River, MD, over four different seasons (winter, spring, summer and autumn). Antibiotics (arsenic, chlorotetracycline, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, doxcycline, sulfathiazole, sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethazine, sulfachloropyridazine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethaxazole, sulfamethizole) and hormones (estrone, progesterone, 17-beta-estradiol, testosterone, 17a-ethinylestradiol, estriol) were determined in these water samples and one set of sediment samples by LC-MS-MS. This study indicates that agriculture may serve as a source for antibiotic residues for the aquatic environment.