Abstract
The insect repellent diethyltoluamide (DEET) is among the most frequently detected organic chemical contaminants in water across a wide range of geographies from around the world. These observations are raising critical questions and increasing concerns regarding potential environmental relevance, particularly when the emergence of severe neurological conditions attributed to the Zika virus has increased the use of insect repellents. After dermal application, DEET is washed from the skin when bathing and enters the municipal sewer system before discharge into the environment. Mainly measured by gas chromatography or liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC‐MS or LC-MS), more than 200 peer-reviewed publications have already reported concentrations of DEET ranging ng/L to mg/L in several water matrices from North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and more recently Africa and South America. While conventional wastewater treatment technology has limited capacity of removal, advanced technologies are capable of better attenuation and could lower the environmental discharge of organic contaminants, including DEET. For instance, adsorption on activated carbon, desalinating membrane processes (nanofiltration and reverse osmosis), ozonation, and advanced oxidation processes can achieve 50% to essentially 100% DEET attenuation. Despite the abundant literature on the topic, the ubiquity of DEET in the environment still raises questions due to the apparent lack of obvious spatio-temporal trends in concentrations measured in surface water, which does not fit the expected usage pattern of insect repellents. Moreover, two recent studies showed discrepancies between the concentrations obtained by GC‐MS and LC-MS analyses. While the occurrence of DEET in the environment is well established, the concentrations reported should be interpreted cautiously, considering the disparities in methodologies applied and occurrence patterns observed. Therefore, this manuscript provides a critical overview of the origin of DEET in the environment, the relevant analytical methods, the occurrence reported in peer-reviewed literature, and the attenuation efficacy of water treatment processes.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 98-117 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Environment International |
| Volume | 96 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 1 2016 |
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Keywords
- Analytical interference
- DEET
- Diethyltoluamide
- Insect repellent
- Mass spectrometry
- Water contamination
- Water treatment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
Cite this
Critical assessment of the ubiquitous occurrence and fate of the insect repellent N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide in water. / Merel, Sylvain; Snyder, Shane A.
In: Environment International, Vol. 96, 01.11.2016, p. 98-117.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Critical assessment of the ubiquitous occurrence and fate of the insect repellent N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide in water
AU - Merel, Sylvain
AU - Snyder, Shane A
PY - 2016/11/1
Y1 - 2016/11/1
N2 - The insect repellent diethyltoluamide (DEET) is among the most frequently detected organic chemical contaminants in water across a wide range of geographies from around the world. These observations are raising critical questions and increasing concerns regarding potential environmental relevance, particularly when the emergence of severe neurological conditions attributed to the Zika virus has increased the use of insect repellents. After dermal application, DEET is washed from the skin when bathing and enters the municipal sewer system before discharge into the environment. Mainly measured by gas chromatography or liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC‐MS or LC-MS), more than 200 peer-reviewed publications have already reported concentrations of DEET ranging ng/L to mg/L in several water matrices from North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and more recently Africa and South America. While conventional wastewater treatment technology has limited capacity of removal, advanced technologies are capable of better attenuation and could lower the environmental discharge of organic contaminants, including DEET. For instance, adsorption on activated carbon, desalinating membrane processes (nanofiltration and reverse osmosis), ozonation, and advanced oxidation processes can achieve 50% to essentially 100% DEET attenuation. Despite the abundant literature on the topic, the ubiquity of DEET in the environment still raises questions due to the apparent lack of obvious spatio-temporal trends in concentrations measured in surface water, which does not fit the expected usage pattern of insect repellents. Moreover, two recent studies showed discrepancies between the concentrations obtained by GC‐MS and LC-MS analyses. While the occurrence of DEET in the environment is well established, the concentrations reported should be interpreted cautiously, considering the disparities in methodologies applied and occurrence patterns observed. Therefore, this manuscript provides a critical overview of the origin of DEET in the environment, the relevant analytical methods, the occurrence reported in peer-reviewed literature, and the attenuation efficacy of water treatment processes.
AB - The insect repellent diethyltoluamide (DEET) is among the most frequently detected organic chemical contaminants in water across a wide range of geographies from around the world. These observations are raising critical questions and increasing concerns regarding potential environmental relevance, particularly when the emergence of severe neurological conditions attributed to the Zika virus has increased the use of insect repellents. After dermal application, DEET is washed from the skin when bathing and enters the municipal sewer system before discharge into the environment. Mainly measured by gas chromatography or liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC‐MS or LC-MS), more than 200 peer-reviewed publications have already reported concentrations of DEET ranging ng/L to mg/L in several water matrices from North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and more recently Africa and South America. While conventional wastewater treatment technology has limited capacity of removal, advanced technologies are capable of better attenuation and could lower the environmental discharge of organic contaminants, including DEET. For instance, adsorption on activated carbon, desalinating membrane processes (nanofiltration and reverse osmosis), ozonation, and advanced oxidation processes can achieve 50% to essentially 100% DEET attenuation. Despite the abundant literature on the topic, the ubiquity of DEET in the environment still raises questions due to the apparent lack of obvious spatio-temporal trends in concentrations measured in surface water, which does not fit the expected usage pattern of insect repellents. Moreover, two recent studies showed discrepancies between the concentrations obtained by GC‐MS and LC-MS analyses. While the occurrence of DEET in the environment is well established, the concentrations reported should be interpreted cautiously, considering the disparities in methodologies applied and occurrence patterns observed. Therefore, this manuscript provides a critical overview of the origin of DEET in the environment, the relevant analytical methods, the occurrence reported in peer-reviewed literature, and the attenuation efficacy of water treatment processes.
KW - Analytical interference
KW - DEET
KW - Diethyltoluamide
KW - Insect repellent
KW - Mass spectrometry
KW - Water contamination
KW - Water treatment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84986328822&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84986328822&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envint.2016.09.004
DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2016.09.004
M3 - Review article
C2 - 27639850
AN - SCOPUS:84986328822
VL - 96
SP - 98
EP - 117
JO - Environmental International
JF - Environmental International
SN - 0160-4120
ER -