Mass fluxes and spatial trends of xenobiotics in the waters of the city of Halle, Germany F. Reinstorf a, * , G. Strauch a , K. Schirmer b , H.-R. Gla ¨ser a , M. Mo ¨der c , R. Wennrich c , K. Osenbru ¨ck d , M. Schirmer a a Department of Hydrogeology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research e UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany b Department of Cell Toxicology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research e UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany c Department of Analytical Chemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research e UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany d Department of Isotope Hydrology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research e UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, 06120 Halle, Germany Received 29 March 2006; received in revised form 4 May 2007; accepted 28 May 2007 Xenobiotics are ubiquitous in the investigated urban aquatic system and are quantified by a large scale mass balance to find spatial trends. Abstract The behaviour and the effects of xenobiotics including pharmaceuticals and fragrances in the environment are widely unknown. In order to improve our knowledge, field investigations and modelling approaches for the entire area of the city of Halle/Saale, Germany, were performed. The distribution of the concentration values and mass fluxes are exemplified using indicators such as Bisphenol A, t-Nonylphenol, Carbamace- pine, Galaxolide, Tonalide, Gadolinium and isotopes. Concentrations at a magnitude of ng/L to mg/L were found ubiquitously in the ground and surface waters. Using the concentration values, the impact of the city concerning the indicators was not always evident. Only the assessment of the mass fluxes shows significant urban impacts along the city passage. The calculation of the mass fluxes shows increasing values for all in- vestigated xenobiotics during the city passage; only Bisphenol A stagnates. A balance model of water and indicator mass fluxes was built up for the entire city area. Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Urban mass fluxes; Pharmaceuticals; Fragrances; Endocrine disruptors; Mass balance 1. Introduction Urban water systems are frequently polluted with xenobi- otics as a direct and/or indirect consequence of human activity. A xenobiotic (Greek, xenos ‘‘foreign’’; bios ‘‘life’’) is a com- pound that is foreign to a living organism. Principal xenobiotics include drugs, carcinogens, and industrial chemicals, which have been emitted into the environment. Xenobiotics related to human behaviour and activity, such as pharmaceuticals and fragrances are increasingly found in urban water systems. Pharmaceutical components such as lipid regulators, analgetics, b-blockers, and antiepileptics are widespread contaminants in surface waters (Heemcken et al., 2001; Ricking et al., 2003; Stachel et al., 2003; Ellis, 2006) and groundwaters (Ellis, 2006). Some of these contaminants have been found to disrupt endocrine function, but in most cases, little information exists with regard to the potential long-term effects of such contami- nants on the urban ecosystem, and on human health. Currently, a comprehensive risk assessment about possible effects of phar- maceutical residues in the environment is limited because of a lack of valid data, particularly on the potential long-term tox- icological effects of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in en- vironmentally relevant concentrations. Human pharmaceuticals * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ49 341 235 3984; fax: þ49 341 235 2126. E-mail address: frido.reinstorf@ufz.de (F. Reinstorf). 0269-7491/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2007.05.033 ARTICLE IN PRESS Please cite this article in press as: Reinstorf, F. et al., Mass fluxes and spatial trends of xenobiotics in thewaters of the city of Halle, Germany, Environ. Pollut. (2007), doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2007.05.033 Environmental Pollution xx (2007) 1e9 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol + MODEL