title: Distribution of phthalate esters in topsoil: a case study in the Yellow River Delta, China.
abstract: The Yellow River Delta (YRD) is a typical agricultural and petrochemical industrial area of China. To assess the current status of phthalate esters (PAEs) of soil residues, soil samples (0∼20 cm) (n = 82) were collected in Bincheng District, at the geographic center of the YRD. PAEs were detected in all topsoil samples analyzed, which indicated that PAEs are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. Concentrations of 11 PAEs are in the range of 0.794∼19.504 μg g(-1), with an average value of 2.975 μg g(-1). It was presented that PAEs pollution in this area was weak and monotonously increasing along the rural-urban gradient. Higher concentrations were observed from roadsides (and/or gutters), densely anthropogenic activities areas (such as the urbanization and industrialization), and agriculture influence district, which mainly originated from construction waste, municipal sewage, agricultural waste and pesticide, discarded plastic effusion and atmospheric depositions. Concentrations of PAEs were weakly positivity correlated with soil organic carbon content and pH, which suggested both of them can affect the distribution of PAEs. The concentration of di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and di-n-butyl phthalate dominated in the 11 PAEs, with the average values of 0.735 and 1.915 μg g(-1), respectively, and accounted for 92.1 % of the whole PAEs' concentrations. No significant differences of PAE congeneric profiles were observed between our work and others previously reported, which is consistent with the use of similar commercial PAEs around the world.
authors.affiliation: Shandong Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for the Yellow River Delta, Shandong Provincial Engineering and Technology Research Center for Wild Plant Resources Development and Application of Yellow River Delta, Binzhou University, 391, 5th Yellow River Road, Binzhou City, 256603, Shandong Province, China. sfyanghongjun@126.com
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hongjun
authors.forename: Xie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wenjun
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qing
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jingtao
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hongwen
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhaohua
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004952:Esters / Q000032:analysis*; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004952:Esters; D010795:Phthalic Acids; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants