Occurrences and distribution characteristics of organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers in the sediments of the Bohai and Yellow Seas, China

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 615; pp. 1305 - 1311
• Main Authors: Zhong, Mingyu, Wu, Huifeng, Mi, Wenying, Li, Fei, Ji, Chenglong, Ebinghaus, Ralf, Tang, Jianhui, Xie, Zhiyong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15-02-2018
• Subjects: Inventories; Total organic carbon (TOC); Tris (2-choroethyl) phosphate (TCEP); Tris (2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP); Inventories; Total organic carbon (TOC); Tris (2-choroethyl) phosphate (TCEP); Tris (2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP)
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.272

Concentrations and distribution characteristics of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in surface sediment samples were analyzed and discussed for the first time in the open Bohai Sea (BS) and Yellow Sea (YS). Three halogenated OPEs [tris-(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), tris-(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP), and tris-(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP)] and five non-halogenated OPEs [tri-isobutyl phosphate (TiBP), tri-n-butyl phosphate (TnBP), tripentyl phosphate (TPeP), triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) and tris-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP)] were detected in this region. The concentrations of eight OPEs in total (Σ8OPEs) ranged from 83 to 4552pgg−1dry weight (dw). The halogenated OPEs showed higher abundances than the non-halogenated ones did, with TCEP, TCPP, and TEHP the main compounds. Generally, concentrations of OPEs in the BS were higher than those in the YS. Riverine input (mainly the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW)) and deposition effect in the mud areas might have influenced the spatial distributions of OPEs. Correlation between OPE concentrations and total organic carbon (TOC) indicated TOC was an effective indicator for the distribution of OPEs. Inventory analysis of OPEs implied that sea sediment might not be the major reservoir of these compounds.
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•Eight OPEs were widely detected in the sediment of the Bohai and Yellow Seas.•TCEP and TEHP were the most dominant OPEs.•High levels of OPEs were found in the Bohai Sea than those in the Yellow Sea.•OPEs showed a positive correlation with TOC.•Riverine discharge and hydrodynamic parameters influence the spatial distributions of OPEs.