Distribution of PAEs in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, China

Abstract

Samples of water, sediment and suspended particulates were collected from 13 sites in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China. Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) concentrations in different phases of each sample were determined by Gas Chromatogram GC-FID. The results are shown as follows: (1) In the Xiao Langdi-Dongming Bridge section, PAEs concentrations in water phase from the main river ranged from 3.99 x 10(-3) to 45.45 x 10(-3) mg/L, which were similar to those from other rivers in the world. The PAEs levels in the tributaries of the Yellow River were much higher than those of the main river. (2) In the studied branches, the concentration of PAEs in sediment for Luoyang Petrochemical Channel (331.70 mg/Kg) was the highest. The concentrations of PAEs in sediment phase of the main river were 30.52 to 85.16 mg/Kg, which were much higher than those from other rivers in the world. In the main river, the concentration level of PAEs on suspended solid phases reached 94.22 mg/Kg, and it reached 691.23 mg/Kg in the Yiluo River - one tributary of the Yellow River. (3) Whether in the sediment or on the suspended solid phases, there was no significant correlation between the contents of PAEs and TOC or particle size of the solid phase; and the calculated Koc of Di (2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) in the river were much less than the theoretical value, which inferred that PAEs were not on the equilibrium between water and suspended solid phases/sediment. (4) Among the measured PAEs compounds, the proportions of DEHP and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) were much higher than the others. The concentrations of DEHP exceeded the Quality Standard in all the main river and tributary stations except those in the Mengjin and Jiaogong Bridge of the main river. This indicates that more attention should be paid to pollution control and further assessment in understanding risks associated with human health.

Levels and sources of phthalate esters in shallow groundwater and surface water of Dongguan city, South China

“…Obviously, DnBP and DEHP predominate in PAEs in the surface water of northwest of Dongguan city. This result agrees with those as reported previously (Sha et al, 2007;Wang et al, 2008b;Zeng et al, 2009), in which the DnBP and DEHP were also dominant compounds of PAEs in the Yangtze River, Yellow River and urban lakes of Guangzhou city. Furthermore, this work shows that a single PAE congener is highly correlated with the Σ 6 PAEs in surface water of northwest of Dongguan city.…”

Reviews and syntheses: Anthropogenic perturbations to carbon fluxes in Asian river systems: Concepts, emerging trends, and research challenges

“…For example, drainage waters from agricultural croplands containing high loads of DOC have resulted in a significant increase in DOC concentration in the middle reach of the Yellow River, and wastewater discharged from large regional urban centers has greatly elevated the concentrations of DOC and POC in the lower reach, particularly in winter (Zhang et al, 2013). In addition, recent studies 395 focusing on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalic acid esters (PAEs) indicated extraordinarily high pollution levels, compared with rivers in other countries (Li et al, 2006;Sha et al, 2007). Tributaries typically exhibit higher pollution levels than the mainstem Yellow River, as a combined result of higher loads of pollutants discharged from local sources and the dilution in the mainstem by the higher flow.…”

Photodegradation of selected phthalates on mural painting surfaces under UV light irradiation

“…Phthalates are not chemically but only physically bound to the polymer chains; hence, they may be leached into the environment and are ubiquitously found in air, water, soils, and sediments [13][14][15][16][17]. People exposure to PAEs may arise from toys, child-care articles, building materials, home furnishing, car interiors, clothing, medical devices, and foodcontact materials.…”