Occurrence, distribution, source identification, and risk assessment of organophosphate esters in the coastal waters of Beibu Gulf, South China Sea: Impacts of riverine discharge and fishery
“…Additionally, the median RQ values of OPEs mixture for algae were highest in both years, suggesting algae was the most sensitive to OPEs mixtures. The low tolerance of algae to OPEs is consistent with a previous study undertaken in Beibu Gulf ( Liu et al, 2022b ). Fig.…”
Section: Resultssupporting
confidence: 92%
“…Additionally, the RQ values of TNBP to crustaceans were higher than 0.1 in the river water of YWR in 2021, with RQ values of 0.14. The relatively high ecological risks of TCEP and TNBP in coastal waters (LZB, Pearl River Delta, YR Estuary, and Beibu Gulf) were reported in previous studies due to their higher concentrations and acute toxicity to aquatic organisms ( Lai et al, 2019 ; Liu et al, 2022b ). The ecological risk of TBOEP did not show an increasing trend in 2021, although its concentration was higher than that before the COVID-19 outbreak.…”
“…Additionally, the median RQ values of OPEs mixture for algae were highest in both years, suggesting algae was the most sensitive to OPEs mixtures. The low tolerance of algae to OPEs is consistent with a previous study undertaken in Beibu Gulf ( Liu et al, 2022b ). Fig.…”
Section: Resultssupporting
confidence: 92%
“…Additionally, the RQ values of TNBP to crustaceans were higher than 0.1 in the river water of YWR in 2021, with RQ values of 0.14. The relatively high ecological risks of TCEP and TNBP in coastal waters (LZB, Pearl River Delta, YR Estuary, and Beibu Gulf) were reported in previous studies due to their higher concentrations and acute toxicity to aquatic organisms ( Lai et al, 2019 ; Liu et al, 2022b ). The ecological risk of TBOEP did not show an increasing trend in 2021, although its concentration was higher than that before the COVID-19 outbreak.…”
“…TnBP, TBOEP, and TEHP are important components of hydraulic fluids, lubricants, and coatings, and they can off-gas and be abraded from marine machinery and equipment . Studies from Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea showed that emissions from fishery activities, especially fishing vessels, significantly contributed to OPFRs in coastal water . Gao et al reported that the occurrence of OPFRs in water was affected by both local ship contamination and ocean transport.…”
Section: Results
and Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…However, its application in OPFR analysis is very limited. A few studies have tried to explore the sources of OPFRs by conducting correlation and principal component analysis of individual OPFRs. ,, However, no quantitative source apportionment data of ambient OPFRs have been reported due to the lack of complete contamination profiles of OPFRs and source marker data. Although some studies have evaluated the health risks of PM 2.5 -bound OPFRs, , none have identified their high-risk sources.…”
Organophosphate
flame retardants (OPFRs) are emerging organic pollutants
in PM
2.5
, which have caused significant public health concerns
in recent years, given their potential carcinogenic and neurotoxic
effects. However, studies on the sources, occurrence, and health risk
assessment of PM
2.5
-bound OPFRs in Hong Kong are lacking.
To address this knowledge gap, we characterized 13 OPFRs in one-year
PM
2.5
samples using gas chromatography–atmospheric
pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Our findings
showed that OPFRs were present at a median concentration of 4978 pg
m
–3
(ranging from 1924 to 8481 pg m
–3
), with chlorinated OPFRs dominating and accounting for 82.7% of
the total OPFRs. Using characteristic source markers and positive
matrix factorization, we identified one secondary formation and five
primary sources of OPFRs. Over 94.0% of PM
2.5
-bound OPFRs
in Hong Kong were primarily emitted, with plastic processing and waste
disposal being the leading source (61.0%), followed by marine vessels
(14.1%). The contributions of these two sources to OPFRs were more
pronounced on days influenced by local pollution emissions (91.9%)
than on days affected by regional pollution (44.2%). Our assessment
of health risks associated with human exposure to PM
2.5
-bound OPFRs indicated a low-risk level. However, further source-specific
health risk assessment revealed relatively high noncarcinogenic and
carcinogenic risks from chlorinated OPFRs emitted from plastic processing
and waste disposal, suggesting a need for more stringent emission
control of OPFRs from these sources in Hong Kong.
“…27,28 Their environmental release is easy, leading to widespread distribution. 29,30 In various environments, OPE concentrations often greatly exceed those of BFRs and other legacy POPs, 31 raising significant concerns.…”
Unraveling the mysterious pathways of pollutants to the deepest oceanic realms holds critical importance for assessing the integrity of remote marine ecosystems. This study tracks the transport of pollutants into the depths of the oceans, a key step in protecting the sanctity of these least explored ecosystems. By analyzing hadal trench samples from the Mariana, Mussau, and New Britain trenches, we found the widespread distribution of organophosphate ester (OPE) flame retardants but a complex transport pattern for the OPE in these regions. In the Mariana Trench seawater column, OPE concentrations range between 17.4 and 102 ng L −1 , with peaks at depths of 500 and 4000 m, which may be linked to Equatorial Undercurrent and topographic Rossby waves, respectively. Sediments, particularly in Mariana (422 ng g −1 dw), showed high OPE affinity, likely due to organic matter serving as a transport medium, influenced by "solvent switching", "solvent depletion", and "filtering processes". Amphipods in the three trenches had consistent OPE levels (29.1−215 ng g −1 lipid weight), independent of the sediment pollution patterns. The OPEs in these amphipods appeared more linked to surface-dwelling organisms, suggesting the influence of "solvent depletion". This study highlights the need for an improved understanding of deep-sea pollutant sources and transport, urging the establishment of protective measures for these remote marine habitats.
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