CHARACTERISTICS, BEHAVIOR AND POTENTIAL RISKS OF PHENOLIC ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING CHEMICALS IN SURFACE WATER AND SUSPENDED PARTICLE MATTER OF THE XIAOHE RIVER, NORTH CHINA PLAIN, CHINA

摘要

To understand the distribution and behavior of phenolic endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in surface water and suspended particulate matter (SPM), the Xiaohe River in the North China Plain (NCP) was investigated. The river concentrations (means; ng/L) of EDCs varied from 21.1-83.4 (54.1) for octylphenol (OP), from 38.7-1819.3 (569.7) for nonylphenol (NP), and from 49.2-774.5 (391.0) for bisphenol A (BPA). Particulate concentrations (means; ng/L) for OP, NP and BPA were in the range of 11.9-19.7 (23.4), 14.4-1196.5 (785.1), and 18.2-31.9 (22.5), respectively. SPM accounted for 22.6-54.2%, on average, of the total phenolic EDC pollution in surface water. The averaged particulate OP, NP and BPA proportions were 24.0, 60.5 and 11.2%, respectively, of their total concentration in water columns. A mass balance equation based on chloride was used to evaluate the mixing effect on the behavior of EDCs along the river. The good model fitting results showed that mixing process was the predominant factor to determine EDC concentrations in the Xiaohe River. Based on the combined effect models, potential environmental risks were assessed showing that most surface waters contaminated by EDCs have a medium effect on aquatic organisms in the Xiaohe River basin.