Phthalic acid esters in the sea-surface microlayer, seawater and sediments of the East China Sea: Spatiotemporal variation and ecological risk assessment

Ze-Ming Zhang; Gui-Peng Yang; Hong-Hai Zhang; Xi-Zhi Shi; Ya-Wen Zou; Jing Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113802

Phthalic acid esters in the sea-surface microlayer, seawater and sediments of the East China Sea: Spatiotemporal variation and ecological risk assessment

Environ Pollut. 2020 Apr:259:113802. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113802. Epub 2019 Dec 13.

Authors

Ze-Ming Zhang¹, Gui-Peng Yang², Hong-Hai Zhang², Xi-Zhi Shi³, Ya-Wen Zou⁴, Jing Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China; Ningbo University, School of Marine Science, 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, 315211, Zhejiang, China.
² Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266100, China; Institute of Marine Chemistry, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China.
³ Ningbo University, School of Marine Science, 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, 315211, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China; Institute of Marine Chemistry, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China. Electronic address: zhangjouc@mail.ouc.edu.cn.

PMID: 31896480
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113802

Abstract

The spatial and temporal distribution, congener profiles and ecological risk of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) were investigated in the seawater and sediment samples from the East China Sea in spring and autumn. The average concentrations of ΣPAEs in water samples were 3.16 ± 2.16 μg L^-1 in autumn and 1.63 ± 1.20 μg L^-1 in spring. The ΣPAEs in sediment was much higher than that in seawater, with an average value of 7.36 ± 6.70 mg kg^-1 (dw). PAEs levels in the sea-surface microlayer (SML) in spring were 3.61 ± 3.36 μg L^-1, indicating that the PAEs were noticeably concentrated in the SML, with an average enrichment factor of 2.10. Among the 16 PAE congeners, di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were the preponderant PAEs in both sediment and seawater samples. Additionally, PAE concentrations in autumn were higher than those in spring, and this difference resulted mainly from the terrigenous input and marine transportation. The horizontal distributions of PAEs showed an opposite distribution pattern to salinity and temperature, a pattern which might be influenced by the inputs of fresh water. The vertical distributions of ΣPAEs were characterized by high concentrations in the surface waters, with a slight decrease with depth, and then an increase close to the seabed. The results of ecological risk in the water-phase showed that the level of potential risk followed the order of DEHP > DiBP and DnBP > DMP and DEP, which posed a high (DEHP), medium (DiBP and DnBP) and low (DMP and DEP) risk to the sensitive organisms, respectively. For the sediment-phase, DiBP and DnBP represented a high risk to the sensitive organisms, whereas DMP, DEP and DEHP had only a low risk.

Keywords: Ecological risks; Phthalate esters; Seawater; Sediment; Spatiotemporal variation.

MeSH terms

China
Dibutyl Phthalate
Environmental Monitoring
Esters*
Phthalic Acids / analysis*
Risk Assessment
Rivers
Seawater
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Esters
Phthalic Acids
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Dibutyl Phthalate
phthalic acid