Organophosphate esters in the seawater of the Bohai Sea: Environmental occurrence, sources and ecological risks

Rongguang Xing; Peng Zhang; Nan Zheng; Hao Ji; Ren Shi; Linke Ge; Hongrui Ma

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114883

Organophosphate esters in the seawater of the Bohai Sea: Environmental occurrence, sources and ecological risks

Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Jun:191:114883. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114883. Epub 2023 Apr 25.

Authors

Rongguang Xing¹, Peng Zhang², Nan Zheng³, Hao Ji¹, Ren Shi¹, Linke Ge⁴, Hongrui Ma¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xian 710021, China.
² School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xian 710021, China; National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian 116021, China. Electronic address: zhangpeng4477@sust.edu.cn.
³ National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian 116021, China.
⁴ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xian 710021, China. Electronic address: gelinke@sust.edu.

PMID: 37105055
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114883

Abstract

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are widely distributed in surface water systems, but limited information was available on the spatial occurrence and ecological risks of OPEs in the Bohai Sea. In this study, 89 water samples in the Bohai Sea and the five surrounding rivers were investigated for the determination of 15 OPEs. The concentration of ∑₁₅OPEs ranged from 373.20 to 2931.27 ng·L^-1 in the river water and 137.81 to 2641.30 ng·L^-1 in the seawater, with high levels of OPEs in Liaodong Bay. Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP, 10- 92 %) and triethyl phosphate (TEP, 5- 64 %) were dominant for OPEs. The correlation analysis, principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis suggested the conjunction of municipal wastewater via river input and maritime shipping was the main source of OPEs in the Bohai Sea. The ecological risk assessment indicated that the individual OPEs arise low ecological risks in the Bohai Sea, while medium ecological risks of ∑₁₅OPEs are in minority river samples.

Keywords: Bohai Sea; Ecological risk; Organophosphate esters; Source apportionment; Spatial distribution.

MeSH terms

China
Environmental Monitoring
Esters / analysis
Flame Retardants* / analysis
Organophosphates / analysis
Seawater
Water / analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Flame Retardants
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Esters
tris(chloroethyl)phosphate
Organophosphates
Water