Biodynamics and Environmental Concentrations of the Platinum Group Elements in Freshwater Systems

Abstract

Growing reliance on platinum group elements (PGEs) as critical minerals for emerging technologies raises concerns regarding their ecotoxicological behavior. We studied their environmental fate in various inorganic and biological matrices from Canada using ICP-MS/MS analysis. Our findings confirmed previously published rhodium, palladium, and platinum concentration gradients from road dust to sediments, soils, and water, but differed from the literature reporting high biological contamination, which was not observed in our study. We also conducted experiments using a predator–prey model by exposing Chaoborus americanus to PGE mixtures for 24 h and to contaminated prey (Daphnia magna) for 8 days, followed by a 3-day excretion period. We estimated water uptake rate constants (k_uw = 1.6–3.5 mL g^–1 d^–1), assimilation efficiencies (AEs = 0.024–32.2%), and efflux rate constants (k_e = 0.51–0.69 d^–1) for four PGEs. Overall, Chaoborus showed poor bioaccumulation and low trophic transfer of the PGEs, which were rapidly excreted. Experimental results supported low detection of PGEs in wild organisms, underscoring the need for caution when interpreting studies reporting high PGE levels in biological matrices. Nonetheless, this study improves our understanding of the PGEs’ environmental fate, revealing correlations with several quantitative ion character–activity relationships (QICARs) and highlighting chemical bond softness (σ_Parr) as a predictor of biological assimilation and excretion.