TY - JOUR
T1 - Occurrence, composition and biological risk of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in water of the Pearl River Estuary, South China
AU - Shi, Yongfeng
AU - Zhang, Ying
AU - Du, Yongming
AU - Kong, Deguan
AU - Wu, Qihang
AU - Hong, Yiguo
AU - Wang, Yu
AU - Tam, Nora F.Y.
AU - Leung, Jonathan Y.S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2020/5/1
Y1 - 2020/5/1
N2 - Since the production of brominated flame retardants has been gradually phased out, organophosphate esters (OPEs) are increasingly used as the substitutes. Given their toxicity and water solubility, OPEs may jeopardize the aquatic environment and organisms. Here, we examined the concentration, composition, and biological risk of OPEs in the water collected from the eight major waterways in the Pearl River Delta, a highly industrialized region in China. We found a widespread occurrence of OPEs in this region (∑9OPEs: 134 to 442 ng L−1), dominated by TCPP, TCEP, and TnBP. Halogenated OPEs were dominant over alkyl and aromatic OPEs. The biological risk of OPEs, mainly contributed by TPhP and TnBP, was low (RQ < 0.1). The contamination level of OPEs in the Pearl River Delta was likely associated with the degree of industrial activities. Although OPEs posed low risk to aquatic organisms, more attention should be paid to some OPEs in the future, such as TnBP, due to the high usage and toxicity. Considering the concentrations of OPEs worldwide and their usage, OPEs may become the emerging pollutants of global concern in the next decade.
AB - Since the production of brominated flame retardants has been gradually phased out, organophosphate esters (OPEs) are increasingly used as the substitutes. Given their toxicity and water solubility, OPEs may jeopardize the aquatic environment and organisms. Here, we examined the concentration, composition, and biological risk of OPEs in the water collected from the eight major waterways in the Pearl River Delta, a highly industrialized region in China. We found a widespread occurrence of OPEs in this region (∑9OPEs: 134 to 442 ng L−1), dominated by TCPP, TCEP, and TnBP. Halogenated OPEs were dominant over alkyl and aromatic OPEs. The biological risk of OPEs, mainly contributed by TPhP and TnBP, was low (RQ < 0.1). The contamination level of OPEs in the Pearl River Delta was likely associated with the degree of industrial activities. Although OPEs posed low risk to aquatic organisms, more attention should be paid to some OPEs in the future, such as TnBP, due to the high usage and toxicity. Considering the concentrations of OPEs worldwide and their usage, OPEs may become the emerging pollutants of global concern in the next decade.
KW - Biological risk
KW - Flame retardant
KW - Organophosphate ester
KW - Pearl River Estuary
KW - Water pollution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85079702708&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11356-020-08001-1
DO - 10.1007/s11356-020-08001-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 32060833
AN - SCOPUS:85079702708
SN - 0944-1344
VL - 27
SP - 14852
EP - 14862
JO - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
JF - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
IS - 13
ER -