Occurrence, sources, and ecological risks of PBDEs, PCBs, OCPs, and PAHs in surface sediments of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster, China

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 25 surface sediments in three cities (Nantong, Wuxi, and Suzhou) in the Yangtze River Delta, eastern China were measured. The mean concentrations were 378, 45.8, 1.98, 4,002 ng/g for PBDEs, OCPs, PCBs, and PAHs, respectively. Their levels in the sediments in the three cities were generally consistent with the city industrialization. PBDEs and OCPs were markedly dominated by deca-BDE (>90 %) and DDTs (>70 %). A principle component analysis of the analytes identified three major factors suggesting different sources of the contaminants in the sediments. PBDEs and the organic carbon in the sediments have common sources from industrial activities; whereas OCPs and PCBs, correlated with the second factor, were mainly from historical sources. The third factor with loadings of PAHs is indicative of various combustion sources. Ecological risk assessment indicated that the potential highest risk is from DDTs, for which 22 sites exceed the effects range low (ERL) values and three sites exceed the effects range median (ERM) value.

Organochlorines in the surface sediments of the Bahiret el Bibane lagoon (Tunisia, Southwestern Mediterranean Sea)

“…[30] The ratio of (DDD + DDE)/DDT is commonly used as an indicator of the resident time and degree of degradation of DDT in the environment. [31] In the present study, the DDTs are not detected in 60% of the stations and the (DDD + DDE)/DDT ratio is larger than 0.5 in the remaining stations, except station S10, indicating that DDTs mainly originated from historic use in this region and underwent long-term weathering in the environment. The long persistence of DDTs (T 1/2 = 10-15 years) is the reason that DDT residues and its metabolites can still be detected in the environment.…”

Positive relationship detected between soil bioaccessible organic pollutants and antibiotic resistance genes at dairy farms in Nanjing, Eastern China

“…0.1 ± 0.1 2.9 ± 0.6 (0.8 ± 0.3) Â 10 À1 0.1 ± 0.0 (0.3 ± 0.1) Â 10 À1 0.2 ± 0.2 (0.8 ± 0.1) Â 10 À1 ZJ d 2.1 ± 0.5 0.1 ± 0.1 1.4 ± 1.0 (0.2 ± 0.2) Â 10 À2 1.5 ± 0.5 0.2 ± 0.1 1.0 ± 0.4 0.3 ± 0.1 XG e 1.1 ± 0.5 0.1 ± 0.1 0.8 ± 0.6 (0.1 ± 0.1) Â 10 À1 0.7 ± 0.3 (0.9 ± 0.1) Â 10 À1 0.9 ± 0.4 0.2 ± 0.2 JA f 1.2 ± 0.4 0.1 ± 0.1 2.2 ± 0.8 (0.3 ± 0.2) Â 10 À1 0.0 ± 0.0 0.0 ± 0.0 0.0 ± 0.0 0.0 ± 0.0 HL g 2.2 ± 0.4 0.2 ± 0.1 2.6 ± 0.8 0. concentration values for PCP, SD, and ROX in the standard, when compared to other published data, the acquired concentrations of OPs and antibiotics were still found to have a relatively high range of values in this area Zhang et al, 2014). As determined through the investigation and interviews with local veterinarians, a large number of dairy cows had to be raised in a limited, confining space, given the lack of available pasture land, which has contributed to a rapid spread of various diseases among the cattle.…”

“…Meanwhile, PCP is one of the typical OCPs used as a paddy herbicide and wood preservative. Therefore, over the past decades, PCP has been found to be persistent in farmland soils in the Yangtze River Delta of China (Zhang et al, 2014). In addition, SD and ROX were two broadspectrum antibiotics used mainly for the treatment and prevention of infections of the urinary, respiratory, and soft tissue systems in dairy cows (Zhou et al, 2013).…”

Concentrations and patterns of polychlorinated naphthalenes in surface sediment samples from Wuxi, Suzhou, and Nantong, in East China

“…1). The study area and sampling sites have been described in detail elsewhere (Zhang et al, , 2014b. Each sample was air-dried, ground, passed through a sieve with a 149 lm mesh, homogenized, and stored in a brown jar at 4°C until analysis.…”