TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of Hurricane Maria on Drinking Water Quality in Puerto Rico
AU - Lin, Yishan
AU - Sevillano-Rivera, Maria
AU - Jiang, Tao
AU - Li, Guangyu
AU - Cotto, Irmarie
AU - Vosloo, Solize
AU - Carpenter, Corey M.G.
AU - Larese-Casanova, Philip
AU - Giese, Roger W.
AU - Helbling, Damian E.
AU - Padilla, Ingrid Y.
AU - Rosario-Pabón, Zaira
AU - Vélez Vega, Carmen
AU - Cordero, José F.
AU - Alshawabkeh, Akram N.
AU - Pinto, Ameet
AU - Gu, April Z.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2020/8/4
Y1 - 2020/8/4
N2 - This study performed a comprehensive assessment of the impact of Hurricane Maria (HM) on drinking water quality in Puerto Rico (PR) by integrating targeted chemical analysis of both inorganic (18 trace elements) and organic trace pollutants (200 micropollutants) with high-throughput quantitative toxicogenomics and in vitro biomarkers-based toxicity assays. Average concentrations of 14 detected trace elements and 20 organic micropollutants showed elevation after HM. Arsenic, sucralose, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), atrazine-2-hydroxy, benzotriazole, acesulfame, and prometon were at significantly (p < 0.05) higher levels in the post-HM than in the pre-HM samples. Thirteen micropollutants, including four pesticides, were only detected in posthurricane samples. Spatial comparison showed higher pollutant and toxicity levels in the samples from northern PR (where eight Superfund sites are located) than in those from southern PR. Distinctive pathway-specific molecular toxicity fingerprints for water extracts before and after HM and at different locations revealed changes in toxicity nature that likely resulted from the impact of HM on drinking water composition. Correlation analysis and Maximum Cumulative Ratio assessment suggested that metals (i.e., arsenic) and PFOA were the top ranked pollutants that have the potential to cause increased risk after HM, providing a possible direction for future water resource management and epidemiological studies.
AB - This study performed a comprehensive assessment of the impact of Hurricane Maria (HM) on drinking water quality in Puerto Rico (PR) by integrating targeted chemical analysis of both inorganic (18 trace elements) and organic trace pollutants (200 micropollutants) with high-throughput quantitative toxicogenomics and in vitro biomarkers-based toxicity assays. Average concentrations of 14 detected trace elements and 20 organic micropollutants showed elevation after HM. Arsenic, sucralose, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), atrazine-2-hydroxy, benzotriazole, acesulfame, and prometon were at significantly (p < 0.05) higher levels in the post-HM than in the pre-HM samples. Thirteen micropollutants, including four pesticides, were only detected in posthurricane samples. Spatial comparison showed higher pollutant and toxicity levels in the samples from northern PR (where eight Superfund sites are located) than in those from southern PR. Distinctive pathway-specific molecular toxicity fingerprints for water extracts before and after HM and at different locations revealed changes in toxicity nature that likely resulted from the impact of HM on drinking water composition. Correlation analysis and Maximum Cumulative Ratio assessment suggested that metals (i.e., arsenic) and PFOA were the top ranked pollutants that have the potential to cause increased risk after HM, providing a possible direction for future water resource management and epidemiological studies.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85089608731
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.0c01655
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.0c01655
M3 - Article
C2 - 32640159
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 54
SP - 9495
EP - 9509
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 15
ER -