Mycotoxins in the environment: II. Occurrence and origin in Swiss river waters

Thirty-three different mycotoxins were surveyed over nearly two years in a typical Swiss wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), as well as in Swiss midland rivers. Out of these, 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol, deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), and beauvericin (BEA), were detected. DON was quantified in all WWTP effluent grab samples with a maximum concentration of 73.4 ng/L, while the lowest concentration was observed for BEA with 1.3 ng/L. NIV was detected in about 37%, the other three compounds in 9-36% of the weekly or fortnightly integrated flow proportional river water samples. Concentrations were river discharge dependent, with higher numbers in smaller rivers, but mostly in the very low ng/L-range, with a maximum of 24.1, and 19.0 ng/L for NIV and DON, respectively. While NIV and DON prevailed in summer and autumn, BEA occurred mostly during winter. Summer and autumn seasonal load fractions were, however, not correlating with other river basin parameters indicative of the probably most obvious seasonal input source, that is, Fusarium graminearum infected wheat crop areas. Nevertheless, together with WWTP effluents, these two sources largely explained the loads of mycotoxins quantified in river waters. The ecotoxicological relevance of mycotoxins as newly identified aquatic micropollutants has yet to be assessed.