A year-long passive sampling of phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals in the East River, South China

Chang-Er Chen; You-Sheng Liu; Ricky Dunn; Jian-Liang Zhao; Kevin C. Jones; Hao Zhang; Guang-Guo Ying; Andrew J. Sweetman

Environment International (Oct 2020)

A year-long passive sampling of phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals in the East River, South China

Chang-Er Chen,
You-Sheng Liu,
Ricky Dunn,
Jian-Liang Zhao,
Kevin C. Jones,
Hao Zhang,
Guang-Guo Ying,
Andrew J. Sweetman

Affiliations

Chang-Er Chen: Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
You-Sheng Liu: Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Ricky Dunn: Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
Jian-Liang Zhao: Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Kevin C. Jones: Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
Hao Zhang: Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
Guang-Guo Ying: Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; School of Environment, MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Corresponding authors at: Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China. School of Environment, MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China (G.-G. Ying).
Andrew J. Sweetman: Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom; Corresponding authors at: Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China. School of Environment, MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China (G.-G. Ying).

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 143
p. 105936

Abstract

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The occurrence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the aquatic environment is a global concern. In this study, we employed two different passive samplers Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films (DGT) and Chemcatcher for in situ measurement of 8 phenolic EDCs in the East River of the Pearl River system over one-year. These data were assessed alongside results from traditional grab sampling. Six chemicals (4tOP, 4NP, BPA, E1, EE2 and DES) were regularly detected in the water samples, of which the three phenols (i.e. 4tOP, 4NP and BPA) were in all samples and at high concentrations (0.4–1040 ng/L for 4tOP, 2.6–58500 ng/L for NP and 11.4–123300 ng/L for BPA). Fewer target chemicals were detected in both passive samplers, with only 4tOP, 4NP and BPA found in most samplers; E1 and DES were occasionally measurable above detection limits. The higher (by about a factor of 2–3) measurements provided by DGT compared to Chemcatcher could be attributed to the effect of the diffusive boundary layer on Chemcatcher uptake or the strong adsorption of target chemicals on the Chemcatcher PES filter. The temporal trends of EDC monthly loadings indicated that they were from different sources and that WWTPs were not effective in EDC removal and/or there was still some untreated wastewater discharged into the rivers.

Published in Environment International

ISSN: 0160-4120 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international

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