Parabens in water and sediment: occurrence in river and lakes in different rural and urban environments

Parabens are a group of alkyl esters of the p-hydroxybenzoic acid that are widely used as preservatives in pharmaceutical and personal care products. In order to gain knowledge about presence (or not) of parabens in different water categories, a screening study was performed in France and in 5 overseas territories in 2012. More than 1700 occurrence data were obtained in water and sediment samples for 3 parabens (methylparaben, ethylparaben and propylparaben). Samples were collected on more than 160 sites during 3 sampling campaigns (spring/summer/fall). Sampling sites representing different types of landcover were chosen. This screening study has been conducted on a larger datasets compared to previous reported literature data. For methylparaben and propylparaben, concentrations are similar in all samples, and no obvious effect could be identified associated to the type of anthropogenic sources. The occurrence of parabens as ubiquitous contaminats in almost 100% of the analysed samples can represent a risk. At the measured levels, acute and chronic toxicity is not expected with any of these compounds tested individually. However, currently available PNEC values do not take into account non-standard endpoints, such as endocrine disrupting effects which need to be considered in assessing the potential risksassociated to occurrence of parabens in the aquatic environment. Parabens are common hygiene product ingredients and special care must be considered for sampling