Emerging contaminants have been considered one of the main concerns for ensuring the quality of water around the world. This work presents the results of 10 years of analyses carried out in the state of São Paulo (Brazil) that has the high population density and intense agricultural and industrial activities. In this work 58 compounds (9 hormones, 14 pharmaceuticals and personal care products, 8 industrial compounds, 17 pesticides and 10 illicit drugs) were determined from 2006 to 2015 in 708 samples including raw and treated sewage, surface and ground and drinking waters. A preliminary risk assessment for aquatic life protection identified potential risks for caffeine, paracetamol, diclofenac, 17α-ethynylestradiol, 17β-estradiol, estriol, estrone, testosterone, triclosan, 4-n-nonylphenol, bisphenol A, atrazine, azoxystrobin, carbendazim, fipronil, imidacloprid, malathion and tebuconazole. Drinking water criteria were available only for 22 compounds and for them no adverse effects were expected at the concentrations found, except for 17β-estradiol.

Sulfadiazina foi quantificada em duas amostras de produtos farmacêuticos usando voltametria de onda quadrada. O sinal analítico foi obtido por redução em vez de oxidação da sulfa sobre eletrodo de carbono vítreo. A determinação eletroanalítica foi realizada em solução-tampão Britton-Robinson 0,04 mol L-1 com pH 6,8. A redução irreversível da sulfadiazina foi observada em –1,49 V vs. Ag/AgCl. A curva analítica foi obtida na faixa de concentração entre 62,7 e 340 µmol L-1 (r = 0,9986) e o limite de detecção foi 10,9 µmol L-1. Para uma amostra analisada, os valores de recuperação ficaram entre 94,9 e 101,1%, enquanto para a outra amostra foram entre 96,0 e 104,6%, indicando que a composição da matriz não interfere nos resultados analíticos. A exatidão do método eletroanalítico foi comparada com o método padrão de titulação amperométrica.

Sulfadiazine was quantified in two samples of pharmaceutical preparations by square-wave voltammetry. The analytical signal response was obtained by electrochemical reduction instead of oxidation of the sulfa drug at a glassy carbon electrode. The determination was carried out in 0.04 mol L-1 Britton-Robinson pH 6.8 buffer solution. Sulfadiazine reduction was observed at -1.49 V vs. Ag/AgCl in one well-resolved irreversible peak. The analytical curve was obtained in the concentration range of 62.7 to 340 µmol L-1 (r = 0.9986) with a detection limit of 10.9 µmol L-1. For one sample analyzed, recovery values were in the range of 94.9 to 101.1%, while for the other sample they were within 96.0 to 104.6%, indicating no matrix interference effects on the analytical results for both sulfadiazine samples. The accuracy of the electroanalytical method was compared to the standard amperometric titration method.