Lao Jia-Yong, Huang Guangling, Wu Rongben, Liang Wenzhao, Xu Shaopeng, Luo Qiong, Zhang Kai, Jing Le, Jin Linjie, Ruan Yuefei, Leung Kenneth M Y, Lam Paul K S
State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution and Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Jul 17. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.4c01646.
Emerging aryl organophosphate esters (aryl-OPEs) have been employed as substitutes for organohalogen flame retardants in recent years; however, their environmental occurrence and associated impacts in urban estuarine sediments have not been adequately investigated, impeding regulatory decision-making. Herein, field-based investigations and modeling based on surface sediment and sediment core analysis were employed to uncover the historical pollution and current environmental impacts of aryl-OPEs in the Pearl River Estuary, South China. Our results revealed a substantial increase in aryl-OPE emission, particularly emerging aryl-OPEs, through sediment transport to the estuary since the 2000s. The emerging aryl-OPEs comprised 83% of the total annual input in the past decade, with an average annual input of 155,000 g. Additionally, the emerging-to-traditional aryl-OPE concentration ratios increased with decreasing distance from the shore, peaking in the highly urbanized riverine outlets. These findings indicate that inventories of emerging aryl-OPEs are likely increasing in estuarine sediments and their emissions are surpassing those of traditional aryl-OPEs. Our risk-based priority screening approach indicates that some emerging aryl-OPEs, particularly bisphenol A bis(diphenyl phosphate), can pose a higher environmental risk than traditional aryl-OPEs in estuarine sediments. Overall, our study highlights the importance of recognizing the environmental impacts of emerging aryl-OPEs.
近年来，新型芳基有机磷酸酯（aryl-OPEs）已被用作有机卤素阻燃剂的替代品；然而，它们在城市河口沉积物中的环境存在情况及其相关影响尚未得到充分研究，这阻碍了监管决策。在此，我们采用基于实地调查以及基于表层沉积物和沉积岩芯分析的建模方法，来揭示中国南方珠江口芳基有机磷酸酯的历史污染情况和当前环境影响。我们的研究结果表明，自21世纪以来，通过沉积物输送到河口的芳基有机磷酸酯排放量大幅增加，尤其是新型芳基有机磷酸酯。在过去十年中，新型芳基有机磷酸酯占年度总输入量的83%，年均输入量为155,000克。此外，新型与传统芳基有机磷酸酯的浓度比随着离海岸距离的减小而增加，在高度城市化的河口处达到峰值。这些发现表明，河口沉积物中新型芳基有机磷酸酯的存量可能在增加，其排放量超过了传统芳基有机磷酸酯。我们基于风险的优先筛选方法表明，一些新型芳基有机磷酸酯，特别是双酚A双（二苯基磷酸酯），在河口沉积物中可能比传统芳基有机磷酸酯带来更高的环境风险。总体而言，我们的研究强调了认识新型芳基有机磷酸酯环境影响的重要性。
