Derivation of aquatic predicted no-effect concentration and ecological risk assessment for triphenyl phosphate and tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate

Shunhao Ai; Ji Li; Xiaonan Wang; Shiqing Zhao; Gang Ge; Zhengtao Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169756

Derivation of aquatic predicted no-effect concentration and ecological risk assessment for triphenyl phosphate and tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Feb 25:913:169756. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169756. Epub 2024 Jan 1.

Authors

Shunhao Ai¹, Ji Li², Xiaonan Wang², Shiqing Zhao¹, Gang Ge³, Zhengtao Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Life Science, Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Environment and Resource Utilization, Ministry of Education, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
³ School of Life Science, Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Environment and Resource Utilization, Ministry of Education, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China. Electronic address: gge@ncu.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Life Science, Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Environment and Resource Utilization, Ministry of Education, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China. Electronic address: liuzt@craes.org.cn.

PMID: 38171460
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169756

Abstract

Triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) and tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) are common organophosphate esters (OPEs), which are used as additives in various industries. These compounds have been widely detected in aquatic environment, raising concerns about their adverse effects on aquatic organisms. In order to protect aquatic ecosystems, a total of 7 species were selected for acute and chronic toxicity tests in this study. The results indicated that TPhP and TDCIPP exhibited varying degrees of toxicity to aquatic organisms. The 96-h LC₅₀ values ranged from 1.088 mg/L to 1.574 mg/L for TPhP and from 2.027 mg/L to 17.855 mg/L for TDCIPP. The 28-d LC₁₀ values ranged from 0.023 mg/L to 0.177 mg/L for TPhP and from 0.300 mg/L to 1.102 mg/L for TDCIPP. The tested toxicity data, combined with collected toxicity data, were used to investigate the predicted no-effect concentration in water (PNEC_water) of TPhP and TDCIPP by species sensitivity distribution (SSD) method. The results revealed PNEC_water values of 6.35 and 38.0 μg/L for TPhP and TDCIPP, respectively. Furthermore, the predicted no-effect concentrations in sediment (PNEC_sed) were derived as 110 μg/kg dry weight (dw) for TPhP and 424 μg/kg dw for TDCIPP using the equilibrium partitioning (EqP) approach. Based on the toxicity data and PNECs, the ecological risk of these two chemicals in surface waters and sediments worldwide over the last decade were evaluated. The results indicated that TDCIPP posed negligible risk in aquatic ecosystems. However, TPhP showed potential risk in sediments, as indicated by the hazard quotients (HQs) exceeding 0.1. The results of joint probability curves (JPC) indicated that the probabilities of exceeding hazardous concentration for 1 % of species for TPhP in water and sediment were 0.33 % and 5.2 %, respectively. Overall, these findings highlight the need for continued monitoring and assessment of the presence and potential impacts of TPhP and TDCIPP in aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords: Aquatic environment; Equilibrium partitioning; Organophosphate esters; Species sensitivity distribution.

MeSH terms

Aquatic Organisms
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Esters
Flame Retardants* / analysis
Organophosphates / toxicity
Phosphates* / toxicity
Risk Assessment
Water

Substances

tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate
triphenyl phosphate
Phosphates
Flame Retardants
Organophosphates
Water
Esters