Australian Drinking Water Map

A Global Imprint of Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents Used in Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Drinking Water
Environ. Sci. Technol. ASAP
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c06733
Abstract —extract
“While Gd levels scale with MRI usage and wastewater generation, the primary driver on contamination exposure is the local drinking water source. These results reveal Gd as a sensitive global tracer of wastewater influence on drinking-water systems. Although current concentrations pose limited immediate health risks, their worldwide prevalence highlights the
emerging threat of pharmaceutical pollution and the need for rapid advances in wastewater treatment, environmental monitoring, and water-resource management.”

In the study, Gd was detected in tap water from: Adelaide (1.67ng/L), Brisbane (4.42ng/L), Canberra (3.96ng/L), Melbourne (16.3ng/L), Perth (4.19ng/L), Sydney (0.85ng/L) and Tasmania (2.27ng/L). The highest levels detected were in Melbourne 16.3ng/L +-0.07

Anthropogenic gadolinium as a microcontaminant in tap water used as drinking water in urban areas and megacities.
HEALTH STREAM SEPTEMBER 2011 PAGE 13
Kulaksiz, S. and Bau, M. (2011) Applied Geochemistry,
doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.06.011
Gadolinium (Gd) is a silvery-white malleable and ductile rare-earth element (REE). Chelated forms of this element have been used since 1988 as contrast agents in clinical and diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These agents are used in relatively high doses and are rapidly excreted in the urine of patients. Gd contrast agents (Gd-CA) have been found in hospital effluent and in urban waste water treatment plants (WWTP). High concentrations of
Gd in the environment were first reported in rivers in Germany in 1996.
Since then large positive Gd anomalies of varying size have also been reported for rivers in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.
These Gd anomalies are considered to be of anthropogenic origin as large excesses of individual REE are not known to occur by natural processes in pristine environments. These Gd compounds are highly stable unreactive compounds and have long half-lives and are not removed in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP).
Even though anthropogenic Gd has been widely reported in surface and ground water, evidence of anthropogenic Gd in tap water is scare. This study examined the extent to which anthropogenic Gd in surface and ground water can be traced in municipal tap water that is distributed as drinking water.
There were 23 tap water samples investigated for REE and barium (Ba), rubidium (Rb) strontium (Sr) and uranium (U) from different districts of the City of Berlin, together with a shallow ground water sample from the eastern part of Berlin. The Havel River (which receives WWTP effluent from Berlin) was also sampled for comparison with published data from the mid-1990s. Water from each tap was run for at least 10 min before samples were
taken. Samples were filtered and acidified to pH 1.8-2.0. Samples were pre-concentrated before measurement with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS).
A positive anthropogenic Gd anomaly was defined as the ratio above unity of GdSN/GdSN where GdSN is the shale normalised total measure Gd concentration and GdSN is the shale normalised background concentration
The median U concentration in the tap water samples was 0.94 nmol/L (0.22 μg/L) and concentrations were much lower than the current guideline value of 63 nmol/L (15 μg/L), suggested by the World Health Organization. Samples from the western districts of Berlin showed higher U concentrations (median 0.86 nmol/L or 0.20 μg/L) than those from the eastern districts (0.86 nmol/L or 0.20 μg/L). Median dissolved concentrations of Ba, Rb and Sr were 0.45 μmol/L (0.06 mg/L), 23.5 nmol/L (2.01 mg/L) and 2.31 μmol/L (0.20 mg/L),
respectively. These values were well below any drinking water limits. The total dissolved
REE content had a median of 50.1 pmol/L (7.94 ng/L) and ranged from 26 pmol/L (4.0 ng/L) to 168 pmol/L (26.3 ng/L). These values were low compared with the limited amount of data available worldwide.

2020-2026: Global Imprint of Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents used in Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Drinking Water

in ,

A Global Imprint of Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents Used in Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Drinking Water
Environ. Sci. Technol. ASAP
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c06733
Abstract —extract
“While Gd levels scale with MRI usage and wastewater generation, the primary driver on contamination exposure is the local drinking water source. These results reveal Gd as a sensitive global tracer of wastewater influence on drinking-water systems. Although current concentrations pose limited immediate health risks, their worldwide prevalence highlights the
emerging threat of pharmaceutical pollution and the need for rapid advances in wastewater treatment, environmental monitoring, and water-resource management.”

In the study, Gd was detected in tap water from: Adelaide (1.67ng/L), Brisbane (4.42ng/L), Canberra (3.96ng/L), Melbourne (16.3ng/L), Perth (4.19ng/L), Sydney (0.85ng/L) and Tasmania (2.27ng/L). The highest levels detected were in Melbourne 16.3ng/L +-0.07

Anthropogenic gadolinium as a microcontaminant in tap water used as drinking water in urban areas and megacities.
HEALTH STREAM SEPTEMBER 2011 PAGE 13
Kulaksiz, S. and Bau, M. (2011) Applied Geochemistry,
doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.06.011
Gadolinium (Gd) is a silvery-white malleable and ductile rare-earth element (REE). Chelated forms of this element have been used since 1988 as contrast agents in clinical and diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These agents are used in relatively high doses and are rapidly excreted in the urine of patients. Gd contrast agents (Gd-CA) have been found in hospital effluent and in urban waste water treatment plants (WWTP). High concentrations of
Gd in the environment were first reported in rivers in Germany in 1996.
Since then large positive Gd anomalies of varying size have also been reported for rivers in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.
These Gd anomalies are considered to be of anthropogenic origin as large excesses of individual REE are not known to occur by natural processes in pristine environments. These Gd compounds are highly stable unreactive compounds and have long half-lives and are not removed in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP).
Even though anthropogenic Gd has been widely reported in surface and ground water, evidence of anthropogenic Gd in tap water is scare. This study examined the extent to which anthropogenic Gd in surface and ground water can be traced in municipal tap water that is distributed as drinking water.
There were 23 tap water samples investigated for REE and barium (Ba), rubidium (Rb) strontium (Sr) and uranium (U) from different districts of the City of Berlin, together with a shallow ground water sample from the eastern part of Berlin. The Havel River (which receives WWTP effluent from Berlin) was also sampled for comparison with published data from the mid-1990s. Water from each tap was run for at least 10 min before samples were
taken. Samples were filtered and acidified to pH 1.8-2.0. Samples were pre-concentrated before measurement with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS).
A positive anthropogenic Gd anomaly was defined as the ratio above unity of GdSN/GdSN where GdSN is the shale normalised total measure Gd concentration and GdSN is the shale normalised background concentration
The median U concentration in the tap water samples was 0.94 nmol/L (0.22 μg/L) and concentrations were much lower than the current guideline value of 63 nmol/L (15 μg/L), suggested by the World Health Organization. Samples from the western districts of Berlin showed higher U concentrations (median 0.86 nmol/L or 0.20 μg/L) than those from the eastern districts (0.86 nmol/L or 0.20 μg/L). Median dissolved concentrations of Ba, Rb and Sr were 0.45 μmol/L (0.06 mg/L), 23.5 nmol/L (2.01 mg/L) and 2.31 μmol/L (0.20 mg/L),
respectively. These values were well below any drinking water limits. The total dissolved
REE content had a median of 50.1 pmol/L (7.94 ng/L) and ranged from 26 pmol/L (4.0 ng/L) to 168 pmol/L (26.3 ng/L). These values were low compared with the limited amount of data available worldwide.