Alkylphenol ethoxylate metabolites in coastal sediments off southwestern Taiwan: Spatiotemporal variations, possible sources, and ecological risk
Autor: | Jheng-Jie Jiang, Meng-Der Fang, Chih-Cheng Tang, Hui-Yu Kao, Chon-Lin Lee, Ruei-Feng Shiu, Yu-Jen Liang |
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Rok vydání: | 2018 |
Předmět: |
Wet season
Ethylene Oxide Geologic Sediments Environmental Engineering Alkylphenol Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis 0208 environmental biotechnology Taiwan 02 engineering and technology 010501 environmental sciences Endocrine Disruptors 01 natural sciences chemistry.chemical_compound Surface-Active Agents Spatio-Temporal Analysis Phenols Dry season Environmental Chemistry media_common.cataloged_instance European union 0105 earth and related environmental sciences media_common Pollutant Ecology Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Sediment General Medicine General Chemistry Contamination Pollution 020801 environmental engineering Nonylphenol chemistry Environmental chemistry Environmental science Environmental Pollutants Seasons Water Pollutants Chemical |
Zdroj: | Chemosphere. 225 |
ISSN: | 1879-1298 |
Popis: | Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs) are one of the most widely used classes of surfactants, but they are also ubiquitous environmental pollutants and known endocrin-disrupting chemicals. This study is the first to investigate the spatiotemporal variations and possible sources of APEOs and their metabolites, including nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs) and octylphenol ethoxylates (OPEOs), in coastal sediments off southwestern Taiwan. The highest APEO concentration in the dry season was observed for the Kaohsiung coastal area, whereas the highest alkylphenol (AP) concentration in the wet season was found offshore at the Tainan Canal exit. No continuous accumulation of alkylphenol metabolites was evident in the area. One possible reason is that seasonal current and wind waves disperse the coastal pollutants. Application of multivariate statistical tools (hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis) confirmed the role of rivers and the Tainan Canal in transporting contaminants to coastal environments, suggesting influences of industrial and human activities on APEO distribution. A further comparison with the predicted no-effect concentrations (PNECs) proposed by the European Union indicates that nonylphenol (NP) and octylphenol (OP) might pose potential ecological risks to the aquatic environment in the studied area. These findings provide useful information for environmental policy implementation and ecological assessments of different types of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and raise warnings about surfactant applications. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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