Distribution and ecotoxicological state of phthalate esters in the sea-surface microlayer, seawater and sediment of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea

Ze-Ming Zhang; Hong-Hai Zhang; Ya-Wen Zou; Gui-Peng Yang

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2018.04.056

Distribution and ecotoxicological state of phthalate esters in the sea-surface microlayer, seawater and sediment of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea

Environ Pollut. 2018 Sep:240:235-247. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.04.056. Epub 2018 May 7.

Authors

Ze-Ming Zhang¹, Hong-Hai Zhang², Ya-Wen Zou¹, Gui-Peng Yang³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ocean University of China, Ministry of Education, Qingdao/Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266100, China.
² Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ocean University of China, Ministry of Education, Qingdao/Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266100, China; Institute of Marine Chemistry, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ocean University of China, Ministry of Education, Qingdao/Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, 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. Electronic address: gpyang@mail.ouc.edu.cn.

PMID: 29747108
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.04.056

Abstract

The spatial distribution, chemical composition and ecological risk of 16 phthalate esters (PAEs) were investigated in the sea-surface microlayer (SML), seawater and sediment samples of the Bohai Sea (BS) and the Yellow Sea (YS). The concentration levels of the ΣPAEs spanned a range of 449-13441 ng L^-1 in the SML, 453-5108 ng L^-1 in seawater, and 1.24-15.8 mg kg^-1 in the sediment samples, respectively, with diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) as the dominant PAEs in both the water and sediment samples. The concentrations of ΣPAEs in the BS were higher than those in the YS. The vertical distribution of ΣPAEs in the water column showed that the concentrations were higher in the surface waters, but decreased slightly with depth, and started to increase at the bottom. Additionally, PAEs were significantly enriched in the SML, with an average enrichment factor of 1.46. The ecological risk of the PAEs was evaluated by the risk quotient (RQ) method, which indicated that DEHP posed a high risk to aquatic organisms in the whole water-phase, while the RQ values of DBP and DiBP reached a high risk levels in sedimentary environment.

Keywords: Distribution; Ecological risks; Phthalate esters; Seawater; Sediment.

MeSH terms

Aquatic Organisms
China
Dibutyl Phthalate / analogs & derivatives
Ecology
Ecotoxicology
Environmental Monitoring*
Esters / analysis*
Esters / toxicity
Phthalic Acids / analysis*
Phthalic Acids / toxicity
Rivers / chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / toxicity

Substances

Esters
Phthalic Acids
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Dibutyl Phthalate
phthalic acid
diisobutyl phthalate