A review of organophosphate flame retardants and plasticizers in the environment: Analysis, occurrence and risk assessment

Xin Wang; Qingqing Zhu; Xueting Yan; Yawei Wang; Chunyang Liao; Guibin Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139071

A review of organophosphate flame retardants and plasticizers in the environment: Analysis, occurrence and risk assessment

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Aug 20:731:139071. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139071. Epub 2020 May 5.

Authors

Xin Wang¹, Qingqing Zhu¹, Xueting Yan¹, Yawei Wang², Chunyang Liao³, Guibin Jiang²

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430056, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430056, China. Electronic address: cyliao@rcees.ac.cn.

PMID: 32438088
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139071

Abstract

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are used as additives in flame retardants and plasticizers. Due to phase out of several congeners of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), the application of organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) is continuously increasing over the years. As a consequence, large amounts of OPEs enter the environment. Sewage and solid waste (especially e-waste) treatment plants are the important sources of OPEs released to the environment. Other sources include emissions of OPE-containing materials and vehicle fuel into the atmosphere. OPEs are widely detected in air, dust, water, soil, sediment and sludge. To know the pollution situation of OPEs, a variety of methods on their pretreatment and determination have been developed. We discussed and compared the analytical methods of OPEs, including extraction, purification as well as GC- and LC-based determination techniques. Much attention has been paid to OPEs because some of them are recognized highly toxic to biota, and the toxicological investigations of the most concerned OPEs were summarized. Risk assessments showed that the aquatic and benthic environments in some regions are under considerable ecological risks of OPEs. Finally, we pointed out problems in the current studies on OPEs and provided some suggestions for future research.

Keywords: Analytical method; Ecological risk; Environmental occurrence; Organophosphate ester; Toxicity.

Publication types

Review