Detection of anthropogenic gadolinium in the Brisbane River plume in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia

Wastewater effluent is known to contain macro and micropollutants, which may be deleterious to environmental health. One such class of micropollutants is chelated gadolinium, which are used as MRI contrast agents. As these MRI contrast agents can be assumed to behave conservatively during estuarine mixing, it is possible to calculate how much wastewater is represented in any particular sample. In this study, the percentage contribution of wastewater at specific locations in Moreton Bay, Qld, were determined by calculating the additional anthropogenic gadolinium contribution to the total rare earth element concentrations. Wastewater contributions were measured at concentrations as low as 0.2%, demonstrating the applicability of this technique for wastewater effluent plume mapping.