Tetracyclines (TCs) are one of the most widely used types of antibiotics, mainly including tetracycline (TC), chlortetracycline (CTC), and oxytetracycline (OTC). Residual TCs in aquatic environments can pose potential ecological risks to freshwater organisms and aquatic ecosystems. In this study the aquatic toxicity data of TCs were collected on multiple trophic levels and acute/chronic species sensitivity distribution (SSD) models were constructed. Based on this, the ecological risk thresholds (i.e., acute and chronic predicted no effect concentration, PNEC) of TCs of surface water environment were derived, which are 189, 11.7 μg/L (TC); 45.9, 1.90 μg/L (CTC); 33.8, 8.65 μg/L (OTC), respectively. Sediment acute and chronic PNEC were derived using phase equilibrium method, with values of 386, 23.9 μg/kg (TC); 130, 5.42 μg/kg (CTC); 197, 50.6 μg/kg (OTC), respectively. Based on the predicted exposure concentrations of TCs in surface water and sediment from 58 watersheds in China, the risk quotient (RQ) values were used for ecological risk assessment. The results showed that the short-term risk of TCs in surface water and sediment was relatively low, and some watersheds, especially sediment, had long-term moderate to high risks. The research findings can provide scientific basis and data support for the ecological risk assessment of TCs.
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