Derivation of interim guideline values for pharmaceuticals and personal care products in marine environment

The widespread use and massive accumulation of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the marine environment seriously threaten non-target marine organisms. However, the lack of national and international establishment of water quality guidelines (WQGs) for PPCPs increases the uncertainty of assessing their environmental risks. This study first calculated acute and chronic hazardous concentrations (HC₅s) based on the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach for 10 PPCPs with sufficient toxicity data. Guideline values were subsequently determined using the SSD approach for the 10 PPCPs and the assessment factor (AF) approach for the additional 15 PPCPs, respectively. Five acute-to-chronic ratios (ACRs) were finally computed using SSD comparison and individual AF distribution approaches. This study provides critical scientific insights into ecologically acceptable thresholds and ACRs derived from empirical species-specific acute and chronic toxicity data distributions for PPCPs in marine ecosystems, which are essential for environmental control and management of these emerging contaminants.