Title of Paper:Organophosphate esters in sediment cores from coastal Laizhou Bay of the Bohai Sea, China

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Date of Publication:2017-12-31

Journal:SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT

Included Journals:Scopus、SCIE、EI、PubMed

Volume:607

Page Number:103-108

ISSN No.:0048-9697

Key Words:Organophosphate esters; Sediment core; Bohai Sea; Organophosphorus flame retardants

Abstract:Concentrations and vertical distributions of organophosphate esters (OPEs) were investigated in the sediment cores collected from the Laizhou Bay, Bohai Sea of China. The total concentrations of OPEs in the sediment core (CA) collected near the Yellow River Estuary were in the range of 11.8-102 ng/g, while the total concentrations in the sediment core (CB) near a mariculture areawere 6.65-41.5 ng/g. Significantly high concentrations of OPEs were found in the sediments near the Yellow River Estuary than those in the mariculture area. Vertical distributions in the sediment cores demonstrated a recent increase of OPE emissions, especially for tri-n-butyl phosphate (TnBP), tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), and tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP). Generally, TCEP and TCPP were the dominant congeners in the sediment cores, while the profiles of TnBP were increase in the surface 0-20 cm layers of the CA core. OPEs in the CA core may be remarkably influenced by the discharge of Yellow River, whereas OPEs in the CB core may originate from the transport through seawater. The remarkable increase of OPE flame retardants in the surface sediments raises the concern about their emissions and risks to the environment and indicates the need for further monitoring. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.