School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
J Environ Manage. 2024 Sep;367:122106. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122106. Epub 2024 Aug 6.
Organophosphate esters (OPEs) serve as significant flame retardants and plasticizers in various petrochemical downstream products. The petrochemical industry could be a potential source of atmospheric OPEs, but their emissions from this industry are poorly understood. The present study revealed the spatial variation, emission, and atmospheric transport of traditional and novel OPEs (TOPEs and NOPEs, respectively) in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) across Hainan and Guangdong petrochemical complexes (HNPC and GDPC, respectively) in southern China. The total concentrations of TOPEs ranged from 232 to 46,002 pg/m and from 200 to 20,347 pg/m in the HNPC and GDPC, respectively, which were substantially higher than those of NOPEs (HNPC: 23.5-147 pg/m, GDPC: 13.9-465 pg/m). Enterprises involved in the production of downstream petrochemical products presented relatively high concentrations of OPEs, indicating evident emissions of these pollutants in the petrochemical industry. The correlations of PM-bound OPEs in the atmosphere are determined mainly by their coaddition to industrial products or their coexistence in technical mixtures. The annual emissions of TOPEs and NOPEs in the HNPC were 42.6 kg and 0.34 kg, respectively, and those in the GDPC were 116 kg and 1.85 kg, respectively. OPEs from the HNPC can reach Vietnam, Cambodia, and Guangxi Province, China, and those from the GDPC can reach Guangxi Province and Hunan Province via atmospheric transmission after 24 h of emission. The OPE concentrations reaching the receptor regions were generally less than 3.20 pg/m. Risk assessment revealed that OPE inhalation exposure on two petrochemical complexes likely poses minor risks for people living in the study areas, but the risk resulting from two chlorinated OPEs should be noted since they are close to the threshold values. This study has implications for enhancing control measures for OPE emissions to reduce health risks related to the petrochemical industry.
有机磷酸酯（OPEs）作为重要的阻燃剂和增塑剂广泛应用于各种石化下游产品中。石化行业可能是大气中 OPEs 的潜在来源，但该行业的排放情况却知之甚少。本研究揭示了中国南方海南石化复合体（HNPC）和广东石化复合体（GDPC）大气颗粒物（PM）中传统和新型 OPEs（TOPEs 和 NOPEs）的空间变化、排放和大气传输。在 HNPC 和 GDPC 中，TOPEs 的总浓度范围分别为 232 到 46,002 pg/m3和 200 到 20,347 pg/m3，明显高于 NOPEs（HNPC：23.5-147 pg/m3，GDPC：13.9-465 pg/m3）。参与下游石化产品生产的企业呈现出较高浓度的 OPEs，表明石化行业存在明显的污染物排放。大气中 PM 结合态 OPEs 的相关性主要由其共同添加到工业产品或其共存于技术混合物中决定。HNPC 中 TOPEs 和 NOPEs 的年排放量分别为 42.6 千克和 0.34 千克，而 GDPC 中的年排放量分别为 116 千克和 1.85 千克。来自 HNPC 的 OPEs 可以到达越南、柬埔寨和中国广西壮族自治区，而来自 GDPC 的 OPEs 在排放 24 小时后可以通过大气传输到达广西壮族自治区和湖南省。到达受体区域的 OPE 浓度一般小于 3.20 pg/m3。风险评估表明，对于生活在研究区域的人们来说，两个石化综合体中 OPE 的吸入暴露可能带来较小的风险，但应注意两种氯化 OPEs 带来的风险，因为它们接近阈值。本研究对于加强 OPE 排放控制措施以降低与石化工业相关的健康风险具有重要意义。
