Occurrence, spatiotemporal distribution, and ecological risks of organophosphate esters in the water of the Yellow River to the Laizhou Bay, Bohai Sea

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2021-09, Vol.787, p.147528-147528, Article 147528
• Main Authors: Lian, Maoshan, Lin, Chunye, Wu, Tingting, Xin, Ming, Gu, Xiang, Lu, Shuang, Cao, Yuanxin, Wang, Baodong, Ouyang, Wei, Liu, Xitao, He, Mengchang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bay; Ecological risk; Environmental occurrence; Organophosphate esters; Seasonal change; Spatial distribution
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147528

Limited information is available on the spatiotemporal occurrence and ecological risks of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in coastal environments. 175 water samples were collected in Laizhou Bay (LZB) and its rivers and estuaries during spring and summer for the determination of 12 targeted OPEs. Total concentration of OPEs ranged from 234.4 to 2892.1 ng L−1 in the river and estuarine water and 87.6 to 969.4 ng L−1 in the bay water, with medians of 1015.8 and 296.8 ng L−1, respectively, showing that riverine inputs were the major sources of OPEs in the bay. Tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) and triethyl phosphate (TEP) were the most abundant OPEs, with median contributions of 47% and 36% in the bay water, respectively. The total concentration of OPEs was higher in the estuarine area of the Yellow River and the southwestern coast of the LZB under the influence of riverine OPE inputs and ocean currents. In addition, the concentrations of dominant OPE species were significantly higher in the surface water than in the bottom water. The concentrations of dominant OPE species were found to be significantly lower in summer than in spring, mainly due to both precipitation and seawater dilution effects. However, the concentrations of three minor OPE species were significantly higher in summer than in spring, probably because of their high usage in summer. TCIPP and TEP concentrations were significantly negatively correlated with salinity. The targeted OPEs posed low ecological risk in the bay and moderate ecological risk in the rivers and estuaries, which was mostly ascribed to the toxicity of tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) and resorcinol-bis (diphenyl) phosphate (RDP) to algae. Priority should be given to TCIPP, TEP, TCEP, and RDP in the LZB due to their high concentrations and/or toxicity. [Display omitted] •OPE concentration was 88 to 969 ng L−1 and high in the Yellow River estuarine area.•Tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate and triethyl phosphate made up >75% of OPEs.•River input and bay current influenced the spatial distributions of OPEs in the bay.•Dominant OPEs were lower in summer than in spring due to rain and seawater dilution.•In general, OPEs were negatively correlated with salinity.