Identificação de poluentes orgânicos persistentes em água e sedimentos do Estuário do Rio Mamanguape-PB

Abstract

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are substances of anthropogenic origin, hardly degraded by physical, chemical or biological processes. Because they are used in a variety of industrial and agricultural products, these pollutants are widely detected in aquatic environments, such as estuaries. These pollutants reach this environment through surface runoff, discharge of municipal, industrial, agricultural and atmospheric effluents, thus posing a threat to human health and the environment. Considering the above, this work investigated the presence of persistent organic pollutants in water samples and sediments collected in three areas of the Mamanguape River estuary, located in the Northeast of Brazil. This estuary is heavily impacted by anthropic activities, considering that it is surrounded by extensive areas of sugarcane plantations, in the vicinity of shrimp farming activities, besides being a recipient of effluents and domestic waste. The pollutants present in those matrices were identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Prior to the identification step, pre- chromatographic techniques were used to perform the extraction of the analytes and the removal of interferents that could negatively influence the identification process. The solid phase extraction (EFS) was used for the water samples, and for the sediment samples the QuEChERs method was used. According to the molecules identified in the environmental matrices, it can be concluded that the Mamanguape River estuary is being a receptor for products used in sugar cane or shrimp farming, due to the presence of molecules that can be used in the manufacture of pesticides, such as those in the family chemistry of the phthalate esters, the thiodiglycol, the phenylmethyl ester, the metaldehyde, the urea, the carbonyl sulfide and the methyl formate. Also identified are molecules which are widely used in industry as plastic additives, such as 2,4-Di-tert-butylphenol, and caprolactam, triethylene glycol, 2-butoxyethanol.