A tiered ecological risk assessment of three chlorophenols in Chinese surface waters

Abstract

Introduction The ecological risks posed by three chlorophenols (CPs), 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP), and pentachlorophenol (PCP) in Chinese surface waters were assessed. Materials and methods This was achieved by applying a tiered ecological risk assessment (ERA) approach ranging from deterministic methods to probabilistic options to measured concentrations of CPs in surface water of seven major watersheds and three drainage regions in China and the chronic toxicity data for indigenous Chinese species. Results and discussionThe results show that the risks of three chlorophenols are ranked PCP>2,4-DCP≈2,4,6-TCP. PCP posed little ecological risk while 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCP posed negligible or de minimis risk in Chinese surface water. However, the risks varied with different river basins, for example, PCP posed some ecological risk in the Yangtze, Huaihe, and Pearl Rivers. The magnitude of 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCP pollution in North China was more serious than that in South China. Conclusion The probabilistic risk assessment approach, which can provide more information for risk managers Res (2012) 19:1544-1554 DOI 10.1007 and decision makers, was favored over the screening-level single-value estimate method. However, the results from all tiers of the ERA methods in the framework were consistent with each other.

Pentachlorophenol affected both reproductive and interrenal systems: In silico and in vivo evidence

“…It is also worthwhile to note that pronounced adverse effects were observed at the lowest concentration of PCP of the study (i.e. 0.5 mg L À1 ), which is even lower than the aquatic exposure level in China (up to 594.0 ng L À1 ) (Jin et al, 2012b), and this may suggest that the current standards for PCP in drinking water of China (9 mg L À1 , Xia et al, 2004) would not provide enough protection to native aquatic species. Although there were limited evidences for the interruption of PCP on the steroidogenesis of mammalian or human beings, the evidences from present work indicated ecological risk for aquatic animals living in Chinese waters (Jin et al, 2012b), and highlighted the importance of application of data on different toxicological endpoints from sub-chronic or chronic toxicity in risk assessment.…”

Probabilistic ecological risk assessment of copper in Chinese offshore marine environments from 2005 to 2012

“…The probabilistic ecological risk assessment (PERA) was performed by using the Probabilistic Risk Assessment Tool (PRAT) (Solomon et al, 2000(Solomon et al, , 1996. In PERA, estimation of risk is described as being proportional to the degree of overlap of the distributions, and one method of displaying risk is through the use of joint probability curves (JPCs), which describes the probability of a particular set of exposure conditions occurring relative to the number of taxa that would be affected (Jin et al, 2012;Zolezzi et al, 2005). The x-axis of the JPC represents the intensity of effects, while the y-axis represents their probability.…”

“…The simplest comparison is a single-point estimate, usually expressed as the hazard quotient (HQ), which is the measured or estimated environmental concentration divided by the toxicant reference value (Jin et al, 2012;Solomon et al, 2000;Wang et al, 2002). Because of its simplicity and effectiveness, the HQ approach is widely used; its use is only appropriate for conservative screening-level risk assessment and for the early stages or tiers of assessment of potential effect.…”

“…Because PERAs can better describe the likelihood of exceeding the effect thresholds and the risk of adverse effects (Solomon and Sibley, 2002), this approach has been adopted by a number of researchers (Giesy et al, 1999;Hall et al, 2000;Jin et al, 2014;Zolezzi et al, 2005). To obtain more reliable results for decision-making processes on site-specific contamination, some researchers and scientific institutions have suggested the use of a tiered approach, ranging from simple deterministic methods to probabilistic methods, for risk characterization, (Jin et al, 2012;Wang et al, 2009;Zolezzi et al, 2005). The objective of the present study was to undertake an ERA which would provide a realistic assessment of the risk posed by Cu found in offshore areas throughout China during the period 2005-2012.…”

Processes and environmental quality in the Yangtze River system

“…Discharge of industrial and urban wastewaters, along with the application of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides in farming, have negative impacts on the water quality (Muller et al 2008;Yang et al 2012;Jin et al 2012). These impacts include release of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants as PAHs, together with re-mobilization of polluted sediments.…”