title: Organic Contaminants in Chinese Sewage Sludge: A Meta-Analysis of the Literature of the Past 30 Years.
abstract: The production of sewage sludge is increasing in China but with unsafe disposal practices, causing potential risk to human health and the environment. Using literature from the past 30 years (N = 159), we conducted a meta-analysis of organic contaminants (OCs) in Chinese sludge. Most data were available from developed and populated regions, and no data were found for Tibet. Since 1987, 35 classes of chemicals consisting of 749 individual compounds and 1 mixture have been analyzed, in which antibiotics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were the most targeted analytes. For 13 classes of principal OCs (defined as chemicals detected in over five studies) in sludge, the median (expressed in nanograms per gram dry weight) was the highest for phthalate esters (27 900), followed by alkylphenol polyethoxylates (12 000), synthetic musks (5800), antibiotics (4240), PAHs (3490), ultraviolet stabilizers (670), bisphenol analogs (160), organochlorine pesticides (110), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (100), pharmaceuticals (84), hormones (69), perfluorinated compounds (21), and polychlorinated biphenyls (15). Concentrations of PAHs in sludges collected between 1998 and 2012 showed a decreasing trend. Study findings suggest the need for a Chinese national sewage sludge survey to identify and regulate toxic OCs, ideally employing both targeted as well as nontargeted screening approaches.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University , 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Xiang-Zhou
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Biodesign Center for Environmental Security, The Biodesign Institute, Global Security Initiative and School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University , 781 E. Terrace Mall, Tempe 85287, United States.
authors.forename: Arjun K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Venkatesan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University , 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.|Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
authors.forename: Yi-Lin
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Biodesign Center for Environmental Security, The Biodesign Institute, Global Security Initiative and School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University , 781 E. Terrace Mall, Tempe 85287, United States.
authors.forename: Joshua C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Steele
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University , 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Ling-Ling
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Research and Monitoring, Swedish Museum of Natural History , Bo 50007, Stockholm 104 05, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bignert
authors.affiliation: Swedish Toxicology Sciences Research Center (Swetox) , Forskargatan 20, Södertälje 151 36, Sweden.
authors.forename: Åke
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Bergman
authors.affiliation: Biodesign Center for Environmental Security, The Biodesign Institute, Global Security Initiative and School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University , 781 E. Terrace Mall, Tempe 85287, United States.
authors.forename: Rolf U
authors.initials: RU
authors.lastname: Halden
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006801:Humans; D010575:Pesticides; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D010575:Pesticides; D012722:Sewage; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls