Significant riverine inputs of typical plastic additives-phthalate esters from the Pearl River Delta to the northern South China Sea

Yaru Cao; Huiju Lin; Qi Wang; Jing Li; Mengyang Liu; Kai Zhang; Shaopeng Xu; Guangling Huang; Yuefei Ruan; Jiaxue Wu; Kenneth M Y Leung; Paul K S Lam

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157744

Significant riverine inputs of typical plastic additives-phthalate esters from the Pearl River Delta to the northern South China Sea

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Nov 25:849:157744. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157744. Epub 2022 Aug 2.

Authors

Yaru Cao¹, Huiju Lin¹, Qi Wang¹, Jing Li², Mengyang Liu¹, Kai Zhang³, Shaopeng Xu¹, Guangling Huang⁴, Yuefei Ruan⁵, Jiaxue Wu⁶, Kenneth M Y Leung⁷, Paul K S Lam⁸

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Department of Transportation and Environment, Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology, Shenzhen 518172, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519080, China; National Observation and Research Station of Coastal Ecological Environments in Macao, Macao Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao SAR 999078, China; Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, the City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China. Electronic address: zhangkai@must.edu.mo.
⁴ Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519080, China; Guangdong Research Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower, Guangzhou 510000, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519080, China; Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, the City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China.
⁶ Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519080, China; School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519080, China.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519080, China; Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, the City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen 518057, China; Office of the President, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China. Electronic address: paullam@ouhk.edu.hk.

PMID: 35926595
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157744

Abstract

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are representative additives used extensively in plastics. In this study, 15 PAEs were investigated at the eight riverine outlets of the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The total concentrations of Σ₁₅PAEs, including both the dissolved and particulate phases, ranged from 562 to 1460 ng/L and 679 ng/L-2830 ng/L in the surface and bottom layers, respectively. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) dominated in the dissolved and suspended particulate matter (SPM) phases, respectively, accounting for >50 % and > 80 % of Σ₁₅PAEs. Riverine input of wastewater from the PRD was possibly the primary source of the contamination. Higher levels of PAEs occurred at the eastern outlets than at the western ones. The dissolved and particulate PAEs varied seasonally, with significantly higher concentrations observed in the dry season than in the wet season. However, no significant differences of PAE levels in both phases were observed among low, medium, and high tides. The partitioning results demonstrated that SPM is important in the transportation of pollutants in estuaries, where more hydrophobic DEHP was predominantly transported by the SPM phase, while those more hydrophilic ones were regularly transported by the dissolved phase. The total annual flux of Σ₁₅PAEs through the eight outlets to the SCS reached 1390 tons.

Keywords: Eight riverine outlets; Mass load; PAEs; Partitioning behavior; Seasonal variation.

MeSH terms

China
Dibutyl Phthalate / analysis
Diethylhexyl Phthalate* / analysis
Environmental Pollutants*
Esters / analysis
Particulate Matter / analysis
Phthalic Acids* / analysis
Plastics
Rivers / chemistry
Wastewater

Substances

Dibutyl Phthalate
Diethylhexyl Phthalate
Environmental Pollutants
Esters
Particulate Matter
phthalic acid
Phthalic Acids
Plastics
Wastewater