Pharmaceutical and personal care products in the surface water of China：A review

With the improvement of analytical techniques and public awareness, a group of emerging contaminants, namely pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), have aroused widespread concern in both the academic circles and the public. Even though their concentrations are as low as ng/L-μg/L level in the surface water, PPCPs are proven to pose ecological risk to aquatic organisms. The researches of PPCPs in the surface water of China started late, and far from extensive, compared to those in western countries, as to this, further studies should be conducted. In this paper, the researches of PPCPs in the surface water of China are summarized in the four aspects: occurrence, geographical distribution, main source, as well as transport and transformation. Based on that, the problems of the current studies and the prospective directions are discussed.