Fate, bioaccumulation and toxic effects of triclosan on a freshwater community – A mesocosm study

The antibacterial agent triclosan (TCS) is added to many daily-used consumer products and can therefore reach the aquatic environment via treated wastewater and potentially harm aquatic ecosystems. A 120 days pond mesocosm study was conducted in order to investigate the fate of TCS in water and sediment, its bioaccumulative potential in different biota as well as the effects of TCS and its main transformation product methyl-triclosan (MTCS) on plankton, periphyton, macrophytes, and benthos communities.