Occurrence of emerging contaminants in surface water bodies of a coastal province in Ecuador and possible influence of tourism decline caused by COVID-19 lockdown

Abstract

Emerging contaminants in water bodies is an issue of concern due to their impact on the ecosystem and human health. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the implementation of protective measures such as social distancing, lockdowns, and re mote work, which have affected the tourism influx. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of emerging pollutants in bodies of water in Esmeraldas, a coastal province of Ecuador, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a highly tour istic region. For this purpose, surface waters from 14 beaches and ten river mouths were sampled at two-time points in November 2019 and November 2020. Compounds widely consumed in Ecuador: acetaminophen, caffeine, sodium diclofenac, trimethoprim, and sulfamethoxazole were extracted from water samples by solid phase extraction SPE and de tected with a UPLC-QTOF-MS system. We found a decrease in the occurrence of caffeine from 100 % to 4.2 % of caffeine and 25 % to 0 % of diclofenac, likely related to the decline in tourist afflux due to the lockdown measures. Most of the compounds diminished in terms of frequency and/or concentration; however, as COVID-19 treatments make use of differ ent pharmaceutical compounds such as antivirals, antibiotics, antiparasitics, or glucocorticoids, future studies should in clude these to assess their environmental impact.