Detection and Occurrence of Chlorinated Byproducts of Bisphenol A, Nonylphenol, and Estrogens in Drinking Water of China: Comparison to the Parent Compounds

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 47; no. 19; pp. 10841 - 10850
• Main Authors: Fan, Zhanlan, Hu, Jianying, An, Wei, Yang, Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01-10-2013
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Benzhydryl Compounds - analysis; Benzhydryl Compounds - chemistry; Bisphenol A; By products; Chemical compounds; China; Chlorine; Chromatography; Drinking water; Drinking Water - analysis; Drinking Water - chemistry; Drinking water and swimming-pool water. Desalination; Environmental Monitoring; Estrogens; Estrogens - analysis; Estrogens - chemistry; Exact sciences and technology; Halogenation; Mass spectrometry; Phenols - analysis; Phenols - chemistry; Pollution; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry; Water Purification; Water treatment and pollution; Water treatment plants; Asia; China; China, People's Rep; Drinking water; Chemical analysis; Non ionic surfactant; Reaction product; Estrogen; Surfactant polymer; Liquid chromatography; Endocrine disruptor; Organic chlorine compounds; Bisphenol A; Health and environment; Mass spectrometry MS/MS; Water quality; Phenols; Poison; Water pollution; Sex steroid hormone; Comparative study; Public health; Organic compounds; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/es401504a

This study applied a sensitive dansylation LC-MS/MS method to the investigation on the occurrence of bisphenol A (BPA), nonylphenol (NP), estrogens (E1 and E2), and their 11 chlorinated byproducts in 62 drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) of 31 major cities across China. BPA (4.7–512 ng/L), NP (8.2–918 ng/L), and E1 (ND-9.9 ng/L) were widely detected in source waters, E2 was detected in less than half of the samples (ND-3.2 ng/L), while chlorinated byproducts were only detected in source waters of two DWTPs. In drinking water, chlorinated BPAs and monochloro-NP (MCNP) were detected in more than half of the samples with concentrations of 0.2–26.7 ng/L for monochloro-BPA (MCBPA), ND-6.3 ng/L for dichloro-BPA (DCBPA), ND-7.7 ng/L for trichloro-BPA (TCBPA), ND-4.8 ng/L for tetrachloro-BPA (TBBPA), and ND-13.3 ng/L for MCNP, while dichloro-E1 (DCE1, ND-0.2 ng/L) and dichloro-NP (DCNP, ND-1.6 ng/L) were less frequently detected (10/62 and 4/62). The production of chlorinated NPs in DWTPs was mainly influenced by the amount of NP in source water and chlorine added, while the concentrations of chlorinated BPAs in drinking waters were only found to be significantly correlated with those of BPA in source waters. Advanced treatment processes could be effective techniques for reducing target chlorinated byproducts in drinking water. This is the first report on the occurrence of chlorinated byproducts of BPA, NP, and estrogens in drinking water, and these chemicals should be considered when assessing the human risk of their parent compounds.