The Ubiquity of Artificial Sweeteners in the Aquatic Environment

English Abstract:

Artificial sweeteners have been used in food, beverage and pharmaceutical products for more than 30 years. Recent studies have documented relatively high concentrations of artificial sweeteners (e.g. acesulfame, saccharin, cyclamate and sucralose) in many aquatic environments including rivers, lakes, groundwater, and estuaries. The potential use of artificial sweeteners, especially acesulfame, as tracers of human wastewater in urban environments has been well documented since the first such study published in 2011, where acesulfame was found at all 8 urban sample sites investigated. There is currently minimal information regarding the toxicity of artificial sweeteners on aquatic organisms. As wastewater treatment plant effluents and leaky sewer systems are major sources of artificial sweeteners, it is not surprising that artificial sweeteners are being found in groundwater and surface waters in and near urban areas. However, in this study we demonstrate that even areas without municipal effluent sources have measureable concentrations of artificial sweeteners. In small agricultural and forested catchments, artificial sweeteners were found in 20 of the 25 catchments sampled. Acesulfame and saccharin were found in concentrations ranging from below detection limits to 117 ng/L and 390 ng/L, respectively, with sucralose and cyclamate less commonly found. Analysis of land use and spatial data suggest that both intensive livestock operations and septic systems are sources of different artificial sweeteners. As a consequence, artificial sweeteners were found in streams and rivers that do not have municipal wastewater effluent discharges. The presence of artificial sweeteners in these agricultural dominated watersheds may offer a new method of apportioning nitrogen and phosphorus loading in mixed-use watersheds.