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Occurrence and distribution of organophosphate flame retardants/plasticizers in wastewater treatment plant sludges from the Pearl River Delta, China
Author(s) -
Zeng Xiangying,
He Lixiong,
Cao Shuxia,
Ma Shengtao,
Yu Zhiqiang,
Gui Hongyan,
Sheng Guoying,
Fu Jiamo
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.2604
Subject(s) - environmental chemistry , triphenyl phosphate , organophosphate , plasticizer , dry weight , phosphate , wastewater , sewage treatment , chemistry , environmental science , fire retardant , pesticide , environmental engineering , organic chemistry , biology , ecology , agronomy
Organophosphate esters (OPs) are widely used as flame retardants or plasticizers and are ubiquitously distributed in the environment. In the present study, the occurrence and distribution of 7 widely used OPs were analyzed in sludge samples collected from 19 municipal wastewater treatment plants in the Pearl River Delta, South China. All analytes were detected in these samples, and the total concentration of OPs ranged from 96.7 µg/kg to 1312.9 µg/kg dry weight, with a mean value of 420.1 µg/kg dry weight. In most sludge samples OPs exhibited a similar distribution pattern, for example, tris(2‐butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBEP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) were identified as the dominant compounds. However, the results also indicated significantly higher levels of OPs in specific sludges, such as tri‐ n ‐butyl phosphate (804.9 µg/kg), TBEP (783.7 µg/kg), TPhP (656.7 µg/kg), and tritolyl phosphate (265.0 µg/kg), which implied different discharge sources in the studied areas. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;33:1720–1725 . © 2014 SETAC