Assessment of organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in aquatic environments of China (Pearl River Delta, South China Sea, Yellow River Estuary) and Japan (Tokyo Bay)

Nelson L S Lai; Karen Y Kwok; Xin-Hong Wang; Nobuyoshi Yamashita; Guijian Liu; Kenneth M Y Leung; Paul K S Lam; James C W Lam

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.03.029

Assessment of organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in aquatic environments of China (Pearl River Delta, South China Sea, Yellow River Estuary) and Japan (Tokyo Bay)

J Hazard Mater. 2019 Jun 5:371:288-294. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.03.029. Epub 2019 Mar 6.

Authors

Nelson L S Lai¹, Karen Y Kwok², Xin-Hong Wang³, Nobuyoshi Yamashita⁴, Guijian Liu⁵, Kenneth M Y Leung⁶, Paul K S Lam⁷, James C W Lam⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP), Department of Chemistry, Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, China.
⁴ National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan.
⁵ School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, China.
⁶ The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP), Department of Chemistry, Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: bhpksl@cityu.edu.hk.
⁸ Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP), Department of Chemistry, Research Centre for the Oceans and Human Health, Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: jameslam@eduhk.hk.

PMID: 30856439
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.03.029

Abstract

The concentrations and spatial distribution of 14 organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) and plasticizers were studied in aquatic environments of China, namely, the Pearl River Delta (PRD), South China Sea (SCS) and Yellow River Estuary (YRE), as well as Tokyo Bay (TB) in Japan. These locations were characterized by different levels of socioeconomic development and human activities. The spatial pattern of OPFRs revealed their ubiquity along the coasts of China and Japan; the concentrations ranged from 15 to 1790, 1 to 147, 253 to 1720, and 107 to 284 ng L^-1 in the PRD, SCS, YRE and TB, respectively. The most frequently detected OPFR was triethyl phosphate (TEP), followed by triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO) and tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP). A positive relationship (R² = 0.668, p = 0.004) was observed between OPFR contamination and socioeconomic activity, measured by gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, for the studied cities in China and Japan. The results suggest that an increase in manufacturing and construction activities in the studied areas may aggravate coastal contamination with OPFRs. The potential threat to aquatic organisms from exposure to TCEP, a suspected carcinogen, was revealed by the hazard quotient (HQ) and probabilistic assessments. Further investigation of OPFR exposure in the aquatic environment of China is urgently required.

Keywords: GDP; Human activities; OPFRs; Risk assessment; Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't