title: Distribution, mass inventories, and ecological risk assessment of legacy and emerging contaminants in sediments from the Pearl River Estuary in China.
abstract: This study focused on comparing the occurrences and environmental toxic risks for diverse priority and emerging contaminants (>100 chemicals) in the sediments from the Pearl River Estuary (PRE, China). The most predominant compounds were cationic surfactants, organophosphate flame retardants (e.g., triisobutylphosphate), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), accounting for >75% of the total mass inventory (∼330 metric tons). Wastewater discharges seem to be one of the main sources of pollution in the area, as the highest concentrations (>1000ngg-1for some chemicals) were reported in the upper part of the PRE (near Guangzhou city) and Macau. Highest levels of ultraviolet (UV) filters, however, were observed in recreational areas, revealing the importance of direct sources (e.g., outdoor activities). An environmental risk assessment showed that PAHs and dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene had the highest hazard quotient (HQ) values (up to 233). Nonylphenol, a metabolite from nonionic surfactant, and two UV filters (2-ethyl-hexyl-4-trimethoxycinnamate and 4-methylbenzylidene camphor) also posed a significant threat to benthic species (HQ>1). Further research through the realization of monitoring campaigns and toxicity tests is encouraged, as the exposure of the resident aquatic organisms and human population to these and other emerging chemicals is expected to increase over the years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, CEI-MAR, University of Cadiz, 11510, Puerto Real, Spain.
authors.forename: Marina G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Pintado-Herrera
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Oceanography & Earth Science, Xiamen University, 361005, China.
authors.forename: Cuicui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yan-Sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jungtai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yan-Sen University, Kaohsiung, 80424, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yuan-Pin
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Oceanography & Earth Science, Xiamen University, 361005, China.
authors.forename: Weifang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Oceanography & Earth Science, Xiamen University, 361005, China. Electronic address: xlli@xmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, CEI-MAR, University of Cadiz, 11510, Puerto Real, Spain.
authors.forename: Pablo A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Lara-Martín
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D063366:Estuaries; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014507:Urbanization; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Emerging contaminants; Environmental risk assessment; Pesticides; Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Sediments