Occurrence, distribution and risk assessment of organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers in surface seawater of the West Pacific

Kaiyan Xiao; Zhibo Lu; Chao Yang; Song Zhao; Hongyuan Zheng; Yuan Gao; Chalapan Kaluwin; Yanguang Liu; Minghong Cai

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112691

Occurrence, distribution and risk assessment of organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers in surface seawater of the West Pacific

Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Sep:170:112691. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112691. Epub 2021 Jul 2.

Authors

Kaiyan Xiao¹, Zhibo Lu², Chao Yang², Song Zhao³, Hongyuan Zheng¹, Yuan Gao⁴, Chalapan Kaluwin⁵, Yanguang Liu⁶, Minghong Cai⁷

Affiliations

¹ Ministry of Natural Resources Key Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, China; College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Metallogeny, First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Qingdao 266061, China.
⁴ Ministry of Natural Resources Key Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, China.
⁵ University of Papua New Guinea, Waigani, Port Moresby, National Capital District, NCD 134, Papua New Guinea.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Metallogeny, First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Qingdao 266061, China. Electronic address: yanguangliu@fio.org.cn.
⁷ Ministry of Natural Resources Key Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, China. Electronic address: caiminghong@pric.org.cn.

PMID: 34225195
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112691

Abstract

Twenty-eight samples of surface seawater were collected from the West Pacific Ocean during 2019 using a high-volume solid-phase extraction with high-throughput organic analysis (Hi-throat/Hi-volume SPE) method, and concentrations of 10 organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers (OPEs) were determined. The total OPE concentration in the samples was 3.02-48.4 ng L^-1 (mean 25.0 ± 10.5 ng L^-1), with tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) being the largest contributor. Cluster analysis results showed off-shore input from the coast of East and Southeast Asia was an important source of these chemicals. Tri-p-tolyl phosphate (TpTP) should also be considered for long-term monitoring, because of its high detection frequency. Results of a risk assessment indicated low ecological risk to species in the West Pacific Ocean for TPhP and ΣOPEs. Hazard quotients (HQs) were all <1, indicating that the health risk to humans from these chemicals was at acceptable levels.

Keywords: High-volume solid-phase extraction with high-throughput organic analysis method; Organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers; Risk; The West Pacific Ocean.

MeSH terms

China
Environmental Monitoring
Esters
Flame Retardants* / analysis
Humans
Organophosphates
Plasticizers / analysis
Risk Assessment
Seawater

Substances

Esters
Flame Retardants
Organophosphates
Plasticizers